MER Article Oil and the Gulf War No blood for oil! The rallying cry of many of those who took to the streets in protest against the Gulf war is simple. Is it too simple? “Even a dolt understands the principle,” said one unnamed US official, “We need the oil. It’s nice to talk about standing up for freedom, but Kuwait and Saudi Arab Paul Aarts, Michael Renner • 16 min read
MER Article Arab Economics After the Gulf War On February 6, 1991, Secretary of State James Baker admitted before the House of Foreign Affairs Committee that economic factors, particularly widespread Arab resentment that oil wealth was not more equitably distributed, had played a role in the dynamics leading to the Gulf war and would remain one Yahya Sadowski • 15 min read
MER Article US-Arab Economic Trends in the Reagan Period US economic relations with the Arab states have entered a new phase in the last two years, one that reproduces many of the features that characterized the end of the Carter administration. US exports to the region rose by about 13 percent from 1986 to 1987 with shipments to Iraq, Egypt and the Unite Fred H. Lawson • 7 min read
MER Article Libya's Revolution Revisited When the United States sent its warplanes to bomb Libya last spring, a first and then a second invasion of Western journalists descended upon the country. With the media in box seats, the scenario conjured up visions of the 1830 French invasion of Algiers, when well-heeled citizens of the Republic h Dirk Vandewalle • 19 min read
MER Article Oil Politics in the Arab World Giacomo Luciani, The Oil Companies and the Arab World (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1984). Yusif Sayigh, Arab Oil Policies in the 1970s (London: Croom Helm, 1983). Abdulaziz al-Sowayegh, Arab Petro-Politics (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1984). David Howdon, ed., The Energy Crisis Ten Years Afte Michael Renner • 3 min read
MER Article Hangover Time in the Gulf After a decade of soaring revenues and frenetic spending, the six “Eldorado” states of the Gulf (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates—the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council) are now in a tight economic and financial squeeze. Experts and analysts in the Gulf and around the w Ghassan Salameh • 14 min read
Prospects for the Gulf All of the small Arab states of the Persian Gulf are now well into their second decade as independent political entities. Bahrain, Qatar and the seven principalities making up the United Arab Emirates became independent in 1971. Kuwait’s independence goes back another decade. Oman, though never a co Joe Stork • 11 min read
MER Article Oil Find Could Alter YAR-Saudi Relations In July 1984, the Hunt Oil Company announced it had struck oil in the Yemen Arab Republic. Tests so far suggest that the field will produce a minimum of 75,000 barrels per day (b/d). This would be the threshold for commercial exploitation, given the field’s location nearly 500 kilometers inland and Joe Stork • 2 min read
Books on Oil Prices Steven A. Schneider, The Oil Price Revolution (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983). Robert Sherrill, The Oil Follies of 1970-1980: How the Petroleum Industry Stole the Show (New York: Anchor Press, 1983). Michael Renner • 3 min read
Oil and the Outcome of the Iran-Iraq War Excerpts from a report by Thomas McNaugher and William Quandt of the Brookings Institution, published on May 14, 1984 by Cambridge Energy Research Associates. These excerpts appeared in Arab Oil and Gas (Paris), June 1, 1984. (Author not identified) • 5 min read
MER Article Recession Hits Saudi Oil Sector A visitor to the kingdom might be startled to hear Saudis speak of a “recession” here. Non-oil growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) is proceeding at a 6 percent clip. Unemployment is nil and construction sites still appear to be eating up the desert around every major city. It hardly looks lik A Special Correspondent • 5 min read
MER Article Restructuring the World Energy Industry A decade ago, the states that make up the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) took a number of important steps to alter the structure of the world oil industry by encroaching on the prerogatives of the international oil companies. The producers unilaterally increased the “posted pri Michael Renner • 21 min read
