ABSTRACT
It is more than four decades since the Arab states first recognized the potential of their oil and its strategic position in world affairs. The Arabs realize that oil exploitation constitutes a substantial foreign element in the midst of a society whose main objective has been, and continues to be, to free itself from the influence of external powers. The history of oil is interwoven with the modern history of the Arab world. Because of the protracted struggle over oil concessions by foreign powers in the Arab world and the adverse impact of the concessions on Arab economy and society, the term ‘concession’ has unfavorable connotations. The modern history of oil in the Arab world coincides with the drive of major international oil companies to co-ordinate their oil policies towards the region. When the Arabs finally achieved political independence in the 1950s, they found it impossible to dissociate the oil question from political considerations.
