The oil as a brown gold.
The oil represents in this century a key industrial raw material. The oil processing industry has developed into very important business. The demand for oil products has increased along with the technical progress of the society. The biggest consumption of these products was achieved during the World War II, when they represented almost the one third of the whole trade.
Map of Cold-War era Europe and the Near East showi...
Middle East Airlines OD-MRT
United StatesBecause of this great demand for oil, people were forced to seek for new sources of this commodity abroad, usually in their colonies and occupied territories. USA has been the greatest consumer as well as producer of the oil products and at the same time were the most active in seeking for new overseas sources. The Great Britain, as the third biggest industrial and marine superpower by that time, was fully dependent on the imports from its colonies, mainly from the Middle East. In 1945 American companies owned 75 percent of the world oil production. Taking into account the British overseas capital, one will find out that oil companies in these two countries owned around 90 percent of the world oil production.
Participation of the USA and the GB in some Middle East countries which are processing the oil:GB USAIran 100% ---Iraq 48% 24%Bahrain --- 100%Saudi Arabia --- 100%These countries are characterized by the specific oil richness and the ownership of oil is linked to the political power in the country. Considering the fact that the oil resources in the Middle East in 1945 represented 41 percent of the total oil supply, it was more than necessary to maintain the good relations with these countries. In context with the strong lobbying pressure of the oil companies, one could suggest that the decision making process in USA has been driven by this economic...