Oil Wealth — A Curse or a Blessing?

Mar 6, 2018 | Abdulrahman Al-Rashed
View Original

Saudi Arabia remembers two important dates in its history: One is the day when King Abdul Aziz established the Kingdom, and the second is when the American company, Standard Oil of California, discovered oil in what was then a newly-established country. Today, 80 years have passed since that event changed the future of Saudi Arabia, when a long column of black oil sprang from the famous Well No. 6 and put an end to years of fruitless exploration.

Had King Abdul Aziz not unified the country, we would probably have witnessed never-ending conflicts between various small countries in the Arabian Peninsula; and had oil not been discovered, the country’s survival would have been in doubt due to the harsh conditions of the desert as well as the scarcity of both food and water.

The British attempted to explore oil before the Americans, but they soon became discouraged and left Saudi Arabia, after concluding there was no oil to be found in the desert. When Abdul Aziz requested cooperation in other areas, the British government in India responded by stating that the king would have to deal with his own problems. Furthermore, the British said that all they cared about was freedom of navigation for their fleet in the Gulf.