On This Day: Oil discovered in Saudi Arabia, now funding programs to use more oil - Mar. 3, 1938
(edited from article)
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Despite Climate Crisis, Concacaf Signs Partnership With Saudi Aramco
Feb 19, 2024
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The irony is that by signing the agreement, Concacaf [the regional soccer governing body for North America, Central America and the Caribbean], is helping perpetuate a problem that threatens the future of its athletes, and its competitions. North America has already been ravaged by longer, more dangerous wildfires, increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes, drought and atmospheric rivers. According to Badvertising — a think tank- backed campaign to stop adverts and sponsorships fuelling the climate emergency — the Central American “Dry Corridor” has already seen more than 1.7 million people displaced since 2020 due to unprecedented extreme weather events. Moreover, Caribbean islands exist in a state of existential peril thanks to sea level rise, warming waters and worsening storms.
Aramco has no intention of curtailing its investment in the fossil fuel industry. According to its latest annual report, the oil giant says it plans “to maintain its position as the world’s largest crude oil company by production volume.” Aramco’s objectives were made clear just before last year’s COP28 summit when reports about its oil demand sustainability program (ODSP) surfaced.
One of the ODSP’s main objectives is to increase the use of oil and gas globally. It seeks to do this by systematically driving up the use of fossil-fuel powered cars, buses and planes in developing nations. Moreover, ODSP is looking to hasten the development of supersonic air travel which uses three times more jet fuel than conventional planes, thereby increasing consumption and demand for crude oil.
Frank Huisingh, the founder and director of Fossil Free Football, commented on Saudi Arabia and Aramco’s activities in relation to sports, stating: “Saudi Aramco is state-owned and the biggest oil company in the world. The Saudi state has a decades-long track record of blocking climate action. It tries to get developing states addicted to its polluting and expensive oil and thereby hampers the transition to safe and cheap renewable energy the world so desperately needs. Sponsoring football is part of this strategy, trying to win hearts and minds by associating itself with the most popular sport in the world.”
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/vitascarosella/2024/02/19/despite-climate-crisis-concacaf-signs-partnership-with-saudi-aramco/
(edited from Wikipedia)
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History of the oil industry in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabian oil was first discovered by the Americans in commercial quantities at Dammam oil well No. 7 in 1938 in what is now modern day Dhahran. Dammam No. 7, the first commercial oil well in Saudi Arabia, struck oil on March 3, 1938.
Discovery of oil
SOCAL [Standard Oil of California] set up a subsidiary company, the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC) to develop the oil concession. SOCAL also joined forces with the Texas Oil Company when together they formed CALTEX in 1936 to take advantage of the latter's formidable marketing network in Africa and Asia.
When CASOC geologists surveyed the concession area, they identified a promising site and named it Dammam No. 7, after a nearby village. Over the next three years, the drillers were unsuccessful in making a commercial strike, but chief geologist Max Steineke persevered. He urged the team to drill deeper, even when Dammam No. 7 was plagued by cave-ins, stuck drill bits and other problems, before the drillers finally struck oil on 3 March 1938. This discovery would turn out to be first of many, eventually revealing the largest source of crude oil in the world. For the king, oil revenues became a crucial source of wealth since he no longer had to rely on receipts from pilgrimages to Mecca. This discovery would alter Middle Eastern political relations forever.
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War [Oct. 6-25, 1973] was a conflict between Egypt, Syria and their backers versus Israel. The conflict was the continuation of a troubling historical pattern of conflict between Israel and the Arab world. Because the United States was a supporter of Israel, the Arab countries participated in an oil boycott of Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This boycott later included Portugal, Rhodesia, and South Africa. This was one of the major causes of the 1973 energy crisis that occurred in the United States. After the completion of the war, the price of oil increased drastically allowing Saudi Arabia to gain much wealth and power.
Oil reserves in Saudi Arabia
The proven oil reserves in Saudi Arabia are reportedly the second largest in the world, estimated in 2017 to be 268 billion barrels (43×109 m3) (Gbbl hereafter), including 2.5 Gbbl in the Saudi–Kuwaiti neutral zone. This would correspond to more than 50 years of production at current rates. In the oil industry, an oil barrel is defined as 42 US gallons. The oil reserves are predominantly found in the Eastern Province. These reserves were apparently the largest in the world until Venezuela announced they had increased their proven reserves to 297 Gbbl in January 2011. The Saudi reserves are about one-fifth of the world's total conventional oil reserves. A large fraction of these reserves comes from a small number of very large oil fields, and past production amounts to 40% of the stated reserves. Other sources state that Saudi Arabia has about 297.7 billion barrels.
Comparison to Venezuela
While Venezuela has reported "proven reserves" topping those reported by Saudi Arabia, industry analyst Robert Rapier has suggested that these numbers reflect variables driven by changes in crude oil market prices—indicating that the percentage of Venezuela's oil that qualifies as Venezuela's "proven" reserves may be driven up or down by the global market price for crude oil.
By comparison, Rapier contends, the higher-quality crude generally associated with Saudi oil fields is cost-effective to produce under most market-price conditions, and thus is more consistently, and uniformly, part of Saudi Arabia's "proven" reserves, compared to the more variable usefulness of the Venezuelan oil.
Environment of Saudi Arabia
The desert-covered Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the geographically largest country in the Middle East. Moreover, it accounts for 65% of the overall population of the GCC countries and 42% of its GDP. Saudi Arabia does not have a strong history in environmentalism. Thus, as the number of population increases and the industrial activity grows, environmental issues pose a real challenge to the country.
Lack of environmental policy can be linked to an enormous reliance on oil. Due to intense fossil fuel usage, Saudi Arabia has generated a number of environmental issues. Urbanization and high standards of living contribute to ground, water, and air pollution. Agriculture and overconsumption of natural resources cause deforestation and desertification.
Likewise, Saudi Arabia's oil industry subsidizes energy use and magnifies carbon dioxide emissions. These environmental issues cause a variety of health problems including asthma and cancer.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_oil_industry_in_Saudi_Arabia#
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_reserves_in_Saudi_Arabia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environment_of_Saudi_Arabia
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