ABSTRACT
Petroleum is a fascinating subject for intensive study. It is indispensable as a source of energy and accounts for two-fifths of the volume of world trade. Petroleum has been in use for hundreds of years in the countries of the Middle East and Burma, but the techniques of production were primitive and the production small, until the second half of the last century. From 1899 until the end of the 1930s, the United States was the leading producer, consumer, as well as exporter of oil. The Middle East as a region is of extreme importance to the world oil industry, both as the supplier of 28% of world consumption and also because it accounts for more than 60% of the “proved” oil reserves to date; further exploration may increase this percentage figure. The nature of price wars fought in the oil industry has changed considerably since 1928.
