Oil has been around for more than decades, dating back to the late 1870s, when the first oil well was drilled in Titusville, in Pennsylvania. Since then, it is still in high demand all over the world and its price continues to rise until this day. Demand for oil began to rise after the automobile boom of the 20th century, when it played a vital role as fuel used in machines during World War II. That being said, many countries in the Middle East are now home to some of the largest oil reserves in the world, including Libya, Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, to name a few- some. This essay will explain how the Middle East has become largely dependent on this natural resource in order to maintain the economic success of its constituent countries, and also to what extent the future of the oil economy appears sustainable. This will be demonstrated through an analysis of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), U.S.-Saudi Arabia relations, the sustainability of government-funded programs in the Middle East, and the two crises major oil developments that occurred during the year. 1970s. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay There are different elements to break down when discussing the Middle East's dependence on oil. They include Western control of oil, US dependence on oil, and the future of oil reserves. In the 19th century, the Europeans' goal was to dominate the Middle East after learning that Englishman William D'Arcy had struck gold when he discovered a huge oil reserve in Persia. A major reason for the oil craze at the time was that automobiles were in their infancy, and also the fact that the majority of power plants were made from oil. The Europeans finally got their wishes granted through the Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916, and soon after, the United States also became an important player. It is important to note that the United States wanted to establish relations with Saudi Arabia because it had come to the conclusion that there would be no way to surpass them in the oil industry due to the high supply in this region of the world. The United States eventually realized that oil prices were being undercut by the Middle East, and it was confronted with the fact that its region's oil industry was slowly becoming obsolete. Relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States began after the end of World War II, when France and Britain both lost most of their control over the Middle East due to strategic unsustainable political and economic issues. As a rising global power at the time, America expanded its presence in the region exponentially by establishing a strong relationship with the founder of Saudi Arabia; King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud. Since 1933, the two countries have enjoyed warm relations under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump and Saudi leader Mohammed Bin Salman. According to Victor McFarland, a professor at Yale University, “Saudi elites have chosen to cooperate with the United States, but only within certain limits. They viewed the United States as a strategic partner against threats from the Soviet Union or local actors like Iraq and Iran, but they strongly opposed American policy in the Arab-Israeli conflict. natural reserves in the Middle East, some forecastspredict that this success may not be sustainable in the near future. A situation that many economists use as an example of the failure of the oil industry would be the oil crisis of 1973, where OPEC members proclaimed an oil embargo in October of that year. “Six producing countries in the Middle East, led by Saudi Arabia, have announced a five percent reduction in their oil supplies. They promised an additional five percent cut each month until the United States stops obstructing a "comprehensive settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." The embargo was an attempt to shield the United States from all oil-related activity in response to its involvement in the Yom Kippur War. This embargo caused the price of a barrel of oil to rise from $3.50 in 1973 to $14.40 in 1977. Another catastrophic oil crisis occurred six years later, in 1979, this one resulting from the revolution Iranian. Described as an “energy crisis,” this revolution lasted a year and ultimately ended with the collapse of Grand Ayatollah Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Due to the revolution, Iranian oil production declined by 4.8 million barrels per day by the end of January 1979. OPEC members decided to side with Iran by increasing their production of products in the hope that this would equalize the fall of Iran. These two events showed the global impact of the Middle East on the oil economy. Today, the oil-rich Middle East has begun investing in alternative sources of income, preparing for the moment when the oil economy inevitably becomes unprofitable. As previously noted, most of the region's oil comes from six countries; Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. The combination of these six countries produced about 25 million barrels of oil per day in 2016. Saudi Arabia, which still gets about three-quarters of its revenue from oil, has begun to diversify its production and has worked to export minerals, including aluminum and gold, with the aim of eventually replacing oil. Along with this, they also tend to develop renewable energy projects throughout the region. “In the oil heartland of the Middle East, we are seeing investments in renewable energy at truly game-changing costs,” says Adnan Amin, director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), based in Abu Dhabi. big changes also come with big challenges. Given that the Middle East spent most of the 20th century in the oil industry, a major problem will arise in the near future when changes occur. Additionally, oil-funded programs, such as free education and healthcare in Saudi Arabia, will be forced to be shut down. With job losses and reduced social benefits, the changes will come at a cost. The discovery of oil in the Middle East forever changed the global landscape, both geographically and economically. The majority of countries in the Middle East turned to oil after its discovery, with some government programs financed strictly by revenue generated by the industry. “Since the discovery of oil in the 1930s, Saudi Arabia's nomadic Bedouin tradition has been replaced by a modern lifestyle similar to that of other highly developed countries.” Besides Saudi Arabia's free healthcare and education system, the country does not require any sort of tax collection or contributions from its citizens. With a combination of increasing costs, changes in disease characteristics,,.