Oil Resources in North Africa and Southwest Asia

Our resources highlight the importance of oil to this region, including the challenges of transporting it through chokepoints. The thematic map in Figure 7.4 shows that several countries have large amounts of proven oil reserves. Notice that Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait are shaded black or dark brown, which indicates they continue to have significant oil reserves. 

North Africa and Southwest Asia are oil-rich due to three primary conditions that evolved in geologic history. See Figure 7.5. Much of the Arabian Peninsula was still underwater more than 60 million years ago. The rivers that fed into this ocean were loaded with nutrients, which allowed a variety of marine life to flourish. When algae, bacteria, fish, reptiles, and other marine creatures died, they accumulated on the ocean floor in thick layers that grew to be miles deep.

 Pressure on the lower layers increased as more layers accumulated. The fossilized marine life that lines the lower parts was compressed and transformed into oil, which was trapped in place on the ocean floor by thick layers of salt. As the Arabian Peninsula rose due to tectonic activity, the ocean waters receded, exposing the land surface.