The Oil And The Glory Chapter 2 Summary

In our society, oil is one of the core requirements. Whether it is to drive from a point A to a point B or to fly between distant countries, oil always had a fundamental impact on our civilization. Its impact is felt, on a daily basis and under many aspects. Not a day goes by without hearing about the Brent's changing undulation, on the markets in New York or London. Some have thought that the desire to gain control of Iran's oil resources was the core of the CIA's intervention in that country, in the 1950s. In recent years, it was considered, by left-wing groups, that the war in Iraq was based upon an attempt of foreign control over the Iraqi petroleum resources. Even though both events have an unquestioned place

Currently Saudi Arabia is one of the leading producers of oil in the world. However, it is losing its foothold on the market. Many countries, like North America, are increasing their oil production and are looking for ways to become less dependent on foreign oil. The increased competition has caused oil prices to decrease. By producing their own oil, countries not only will increase their revenues, but will also reduce their need to rely on foreign oil. By reducing their need foreign an oil a country does not have to worry that their oil supply will be cut off if they go to war.

Oil has often been referred to as any economy’s lifeblood. Although this is an overemphasis, oil has been the key, nonhuman resource of the economy throughout the largest part of the 20th century. In the book “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, And Power” by Daniel Yergin, the author illustrates the political, societal, economic, and geo-strategic importance of this product.

In Document B the map shows that Japan had little to no oil fields. So Japan must have been getting oil from somewhere else because they could not have possibly made the amount of oil that they needed on their own. In Document D the chart says that about 80% of Japan's Petroleum was from shipments coming in from the US. They needed the US to supply their oil or they would have virtually none. Lastly, in Document E Hideki Tojo said at the Imperial Conference that if the US does not ship them oil they will run out within 2 years and not have any for military uses and the military ships will not be able to run. Japan was angry at the US for not sending in the shipments of oil to help supply their

Two-thirds of the world’s remaining oil reserves are in the Middle East which will make international policy imperative in the future (Campbell 2007). It is

Middle East is strategically important region where mostly world half of oil reserves are located. Three countries: Saudi Arabia, Iran and United Arab Emirates accounted for 57% of total Middle East liquids fuels production. (Liquid fuels production in Middle Eastern and North African countries n.d.) Although due to increased domestic production of petroleum and natural gas, the United States is reducing its dependence on foreign oil with imported liquid fuels, but still oil means a lot to the US as oil prices is determined internationally by what is available for all global consumers. Therefore, to safeguard the security of Oil supply in the Middle East and ensure stable access to affordable oil is in the vital interest of the America. (Mexican crude oil shipments to Europe and Asia are rising as U.S. imports fall

The featured article “The End of Oil,” the author, Alex Kuhlman argues that oil production is decreasing due to the costs of production are rising because cheap and easily accessible oil is hard to find despite increased consumption.(Kuhlman, 2007). Kuhlman (2007) provides evidence both from oil demand and supply aspects to illustrate the imbalance which causes the end of oil.

Peter Maass, the author of “Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil”, has been studying oil, oil rich countries, oil corporations, oil prices, and such for a decent amount of time now. In his novel, he zeroes in on the consequences that humankind faces due to their oil-hungry appetites through the explanation of oil related sins. Each chapter dives into a different sin relating to the disadvantages of living in a world where the demand for oil is so prominent. Some of these sins, for example, are Plunder, Rot, Fear, Greed, Containment, and Desire, plus more. Maass gives an in-depth analysis of how the humankind’s great dependence on oil in recent years has extreme repercussions besides the usual topic of running low on oil, climate

Oil is a very important fossil fuel that is used for various sources of energy. Oil supplies power to industries, fuel for transportation, heat for buildings, and provides raw material for plastics, paints, textiles, and other materials (hybrid cars). To access this fossil fuel, oil drilling is used. Land-based oil drilling became less productive and as the global stipulation for energy increased, technology, law, and geology impacts stepped in and pushed the exploration of oil away from shores (CITE). With its historical background, offshore oil drilling is one of the most important aspects of today’s economy although we are faced with its risks and consequences, such as the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion of the Gulf of Mexico.

The central planning and authoritarian control of the past have shaped most of the region’s political, economic, and social conditions of today. Russia is closely associated with post-Soviet states economically, but no longer legally has control over these territories. Russia and the post‐Soviet states are associated today as a region, primarily because of their history from the nineteenth century onward (Pulsipher 2011).

Oil was found at Masjed Soleyman in southeastern Iran on May 26, 1908, and three years later was piped down to a newly built refinery at Abadan on the Iranian side of the Shatt-Al-Arab, not many miles below Basra.1(Stephen, 1991) Its global importance eas immediately recognized, not just by the Admiralty in London, looking for new sources of supply for its oil-fired battleships, but in other European capitals as well leading to a brief British-German-Turkish skirmish for control of the pipeline at the start of World War 1.2(Wilfred, 2007) Oil was next found in the Persian Gulf, beginning with Bahrain in 1931; there were subsequent discoveries in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Trucial states, and Oman. By 1960 the smaller Gulf states were producing 15 percent of the world 's oil, with another 10 percent or so coming from Iraq and Iran.3(Longrigg, Oil in the Middle East) By 1970 this had risen to 30 percent.4(BP Statistical Review, 2006) The story of the discovery, exploitation, and importance of Middle Eastern oil has been told in many different ways, and from many different points of view. For some it has been a source of Western triumphalism as in the case of the Aramco story , in which brave Texas "pioneers" conquer the world 's last oil frontier.5(Wallace, 1971) For others, like the Arab novelist Abad Al-Rahman Munif, it is a tale of woe, as the lives of nomadic people are disrupted by the appearance of prisons and exploitative local officials.6(Cities of Salt, 1989)

Oil is and will be the dominant sector of economy in the world for some more decades. It is capable of taking entire countries out of their economic trouble as well as giving them power over other nations. Ecuador, a small country in the north west of South America, began to take part in oil industry about four and a half decades ago. The government started looking for more small petroleum reserves in 2004 without the expectation of finding much. This is why in 2007 it was an enormous surprise when they found one that could help take their “third world country” stereotype away. The only problem is it is located under the world’s most diverse spot on earth. Because of this the government decided to structure a project called Yasuni-ITT to save this precious place. In 2013 this project was canceled since no great support from other countries was shown. Yasuni-ITT was a precise approach to the solution of this dilemma because it prevented an ecological impact from occurring while also allowing Ecuador to advance economically. All of this could had been achieved if other nations would have shown interest in saving the environment.

Oil has repeatedly been referred to as any economy’s lifeblood. Whereas this is an overemphasis, oil has been the utmost key, nonhuman resource of economy throughout the largest part of the 20th century. In the book “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, And Power” by Daniel Yergin, the author illustrates the political, societal, economic, and geo-strategic prominence of this product. The book was published by Simon and Schuster in 2011 in New York, and contains 928 pages, as its ISBN is 1439134839. This research paper aims to provide a book review on Daniel Yergin’s “The Prize.”

Japan has undergone significant changes in reliance on energy sources within the last five years. Unfortunately, these changes have often been sporadic and unpredictable for its government and citizens. Japan is the third largest oil importer and the second largest coal importing country today. Overall, Japan is the fifth largest consumer of global energy, yet imports almost all of its crude oil. Even more so, with a country that doubles its energy consumption every five years, its government is quickly searching for and implementing new solution to avoid a heavy reliance on importation.

World oil demand is increasing as emerging economies need more energy to increase their living standards. Estimates, shown below, are that by 2030, China and India as emerging markets will import over 70% to 90% of their fossil fuel needs (1) . Coupled to a continued high and growing demand for oil, makes this a robust market for the next 30 years.