(contents)
Chapter 3 The grace of Allah – Oil boom (10)
073 Saudi Arabia appeared on stage (2/4)
The opening of the Suez Canal in 1871 caused the clash between
UK and Ottoman Empire. Suez Canal made the British Empire possible to reach to
its colonies in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia easier than before.
UK confronted with regional powerhouse Ottoman Empire. Two empires battled in
the World War I. UK made allied with Bedouin in the Arabian Peninsula. In 1940
first oil was discovered in the eastern province. Later, giant oil fields,
Ghawar and Safania, were discovered in the onshore and offshore of peninsula
respectively. These findings opened the door for Saudi Arabia as the world
energy supplier. Saudi Arabia appeared on stage of Middle East.
Four American oil companies found the oil in Saudi Arabia. They
were Standard Oil Company of California (Socal), Standard Oil Company of New
Jersey (Esso), Standard Oil Company of New York (Mobil) and Texaco. But
commercial production was postponed after the World War II. It was worthy to
mention that US President Roosevelt met King Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia
immediately after Yalta Conference in 1945. (See Prolog 1. "Summit at
Great Bitter Lake of The Suez Canal "). Oil was one of the most important
factors to take the initiative of postwar world.
(To be continued ----)
(From an ordinary citizen in the cloud)
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