Benefits and Drawbacks of Countries Dependent on Oil and Gas Essay

The Middle East is one of the birthplaces of human kind’s civilization. Since the Ancient Egypt, Sumer, the Arab Empire, Turkey Empire, or even to present day, the Middle East has always been a valuable strategic point for not only because of its geographic location but also it full of petroleum and nature gas. According the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) that 66% of the global oil reserves are in the Middle East and only 6% in North America, this makes a lot of powerful countries want to share a pieces of the Middle East, Stephen mentions “Much of the world 's oil wealth exists along the Persian Gulf, with particularly large reserves in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait

The chapter also talks about the economy on a global scale and the wealth distribution.

In terms of oil dependence, most of the general public believes that the world has enough oil to support us for the next hundred years; in truth we are rapidly depleting our petroleum sources due to the increasing population and demand. In fact, as was initially theorized by the Hubbert Peak Theory in 1950, Earth peaked in oil supplies in 1973 and the largest oil resources that have been discovered since then have been in Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. Here it must be

One of the major issues in global affairs today consists of the supply of energy and other minerals and commodities. Michael Klare in “The End of Easy Everything” argues that the transformation from an effortless to a more resilient resource period will be expensive. Looking at the state of the supply of energy oil and natural gas today, I tend to agree with the findings as presented by Michael Klare.

Globalization has been a process underway for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. From the Roman Empire, to caravans on the Spice Road, to the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the process of connecting the globe in an interdependent web has been underway for a long time. Today, it seems that this process has been quickly accelerated. Since the end of World War II and the rebuilding effort that followed it, global development has increased at an intense rate fueled by transnational corporations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. These multilateral organizations have transformed our global economy and reshaped our society.

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

General J.H. Binford Peay III told a House subcommittee in 1997. “With over 65 percent of the world’s oil reserves located in the Gulf States of the region – from which the United States imports nearly 20 percent of its needs; Western Europe, 43 percent; and Japan, 68 percent –

One of the major issues in global affairs today consists of the supply of energy and other minerals and commodities. Michael Klare in “The End of Easy Everything” argues that the transformation from an effortless to a more resilient resource period will be financially, environmentally, socially, and politically costly. Looking at the state of the supply of energy oil and natural gas today, I tend to agree with the findings as presented by Michael Klare.

“National Security Consequences of United States Oil Dependence” is an article created by an Independent Task Force which emphasizes how in the future the United States can experience severe consequences from using an abundant amount of oil. "For the United States, with 4.6 percent of the world's population using 25 percent of the world's oil, the transition would be especially disruptive" (Task Force 212). The transition they describe is to an economy that relies less on petroleum. This dependence on oil could possibly result in the United States to suffer with economic, and social downfall as the entire country depends on the oil we obtain. One alternative to this oil dependency is to explore all American territory for oil, which involves

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

Energy security encompassing having affordable and reliable energy available while ensuing it is not detrimental to other natural resources. According to Mulligan (2010), “… the world’s most widely traded fuel, oil accounts for some 34 percent of primary energy consumption. Because resources are concentrated in a relatively small number of states, many other states depend upon a functioning global market and the continuing availability of imports” (p.79). The system the world obtains its fuel is one which is dependent of other countries, besides the United States. Relying on other countries can be detrimental to the United States and cause problems. Many would like to see alternatives to using natural resources. Alternatives are available to help with multiple energy

A.) The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has a membership of 11 countries. The members of OPEC currently supply more than 40 per cent of the world's oil and they possess about 78 per cent of the world's total proven crude oil reserves.

Being such a necessary and overused resource makes it a hotly contested subject and global issue. The United States is one of the biggest importers and users of oil in the world, which makes our need of it a major influence on several global markets. Our heavy reliance on dirty fuels, as well as every other industrialized country in the world, will lead to massive effects on the climate of our Earth. This in addition, has led to violence and war, particularly in the Middle East, over the ownership and distribution of oil and other energy resources, which in the end only serves to profit big oil industries. This problem will not stop or slow down, as the demand for energy will only increase as the world’s population and global economy continues to expand. For mainly these reasons, which will be handled more in-depth throughout this paper, the need for clean alternative energy is paramount and must be addressed within the foreseeable future should we otherwise suffer the consequences.

Answer: The world economy has shifted dramatically over the past 30 years. We have been moving away from a world in which national economies were relatively self- contained entities, isolated from each other by barriers to cross- border trade and investments; by distance, time zones, and language; and by national differences in government regulation, culture, and business systems.

“Globalization is not just one impact of the new technologies that are reshaping the economies of the third millennium” (Thurow 19-31). When speaking of globalization, most people will not have a complete understanding as of what it actually means or what aspects of the world it affects. Globalization promotes free trade and creates jobs. The capital markets attract investors, resort cheap labor, and leads to job losses in some areas of higher wage. While all of this is happening, the world economy is being effected: economically, culturally, socially, and politically.