1 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,000 [electronic beeping] 2 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:10,920 [static fizzling] 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:15,240 [female narrator] 1991. 4 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:18,400 The opening shots of the first Gulf War. 5 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:22,920 A US-led coalition takes on Iraq... 6 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:26,800 punishing Saddam Hussein for his invasion of Kuwait. 7 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:27,840 [shouting] 8 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:32,800 It's one of the most intense air bombardments ever. 9 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:38,600 But this isn't just about standing up  to a bully. 10 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:46,640 It's also about controlling one  of the world's most precious resources... 11 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:51,800 oil. 12 00:00:53,160 --> 00:00:56,960 Oil has brought astronomical wealth to the Middle East. 13 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:00,800 What were once some of the poorest countries on Earth... 14 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:02,240 are now some of the richest. 15 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:06,880 Luxury playgrounds for the super wealthy. 16 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:15,000 Five countries in the Middle East are among the 25 wealthiest in the world. 17 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:20,320 The most profitable company on the planet is Saudi Aramco, 18 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:22,680 Saudi Arabia's oil operator. 19 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:28,720 Its 2018 profits were $111 billion. 20 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,560 Yet the region's cursed by conflict. 21 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:38,400 In the last 60 years alone, there's been five major wars 22 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:39,960 and five uprisings. 23 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,280 So, for the Middle East, is oil a blessing... 24 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:46,600 or a curse? 25 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:00,520 In the last hundred years, 26 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:03,280 oil has transformed and shaped our lives. 27 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,320 Without it, the modern world simply would not exist. 28 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:10,880 Thanks to oil, the planet has shrunk. 29 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:13,600 We travel constantly. 30 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:19,000 From oil, we get plastics, which show up in everything, 31 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:21,680 from shoes to technology... 32 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:23,160 to medicine. 33 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:27,920 And when you think of oil, you think of one place: 34 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:29,600 the Middle East. 35 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:34,920 There's just a handful of countries all clustered together 36 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:39,160 that supply well over a third of all the oil the world uses. 37 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:40,480 [bubbling] 38 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:48,200 The age of oil in the Middle East begins in the early 1900s, 39 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,400 when, after seven years of wandering in the desert, 40 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:55,240 determined British geologist George Bernard Reynolds 41 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:57,600 finally discovers oil in Persia, 42 00:02:58,200 --> 00:02:59,440 modern-day Iran. 43 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,200 [man] British prospectors found oil in commercial quantities. 44 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:04,640 This was well number one. 45 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:06,280 In the following years, 46 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,480 the oil derricks sprang up along the foothills of the mountain. 47 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:14,400 [narrator] A year later, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company is launched. 48 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:16,800 The timing is excellent. 49 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:19,560 World War I proves oil 50 00:03:19,640 --> 00:03:22,520 makes a far better energy source  than coal for ships. 51 00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:26,520 And it powers new tanks and planes. 52 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:27,520 [whinnies] 53 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:29,720 Demand quickly grows. 54 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:35,600 From the start, oil is measured in barrels. 55 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:38,840 The inspiration comes partly from another valuable liquid, 56 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:39,840 whiskey. 57 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:43,400 Rather than reinvent the wheel, 58 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:46,240 oil producers just take the 40-gallon whiskey barrel 59 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,280 and use that for the gooey, tar-like substance. 60 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:52,560 Add two extra gallons for spills, 61 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:54,280 and there you have it. 62 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:57,280 So what do you get from one barrel of oil? 63 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:02,520 Quite a bit, actually. 64 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:07,240 You get enough gas to drive a car 280 miles... 65 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:08,160 [horn honks] 66 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:10,360 ...and a large truck 40 miles 67 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,560 and a gallon of tar for covering roads or roofs... 68 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:16,120 -[engine revs] -[tires squeal] 69 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:17,680 ...and a quart of motor oil. 70 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:19,480 But, wait, there's more. 71 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:22,120 You'll have enough petrochemicals left 72 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:24,640 to make either 540 toothbrushes 73 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:27,760 or 135 rubber balls. 74 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:37,760 Even before World War I is over, 75 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:41,920 Britain and France secretly agree to carve up the Middle East between them. 76 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:44,360 And it's all about the oil. 77 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:47,880 The Arabs are not consulted. 78 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:50,360 But they're fractured  into tribes and kingdoms, 79 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:52,680 so powerless to stop events. 80 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,440 The seeds of a conflict that will last decades are planted. 81 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,480 Especially as, in the years between  the two world wars, 82 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:03,960 more oil is discovered in the region. 83 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:08,840 But why exactly is the Middle East blessed with so much oil? 84 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:15,240 Way, way back, at least 100 million years ago, 85 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:19,480 what's now desert in the Middle East was the bed of an inland sea. 86 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:24,840 Microscopic organisms sank to the bottom, getting crushed. 87 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:28,880 Over the centuries, they were pressure-cooked into crude oil. 88 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:33,200 Eventually, the waters receded, 89 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:35,920 and the dry dunes of the Middle East emerged, 90 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:42,600 leaving those massive deposits of oil tantalizingly close to the surface. 91 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:52,240 Now everyone knows where the oil is and why it's so valuable. 92 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:55,200 So when World War II breaks out, 93 00:05:55,280 --> 00:05:58,360 the Allies make sure Hitler never gets his hands on it. 94 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:03,920 The huge demand for oil, 95 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:06,960 both during the war and in the years following, 96 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:09,840 spurs companies to hunt  for more black gold 97 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:11,120 throughout the Middle East. 98 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:14,880 Turns out it's everywhere. 99 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:22,200 In 1938, oil is found in Kuwait and then Saudi Arabia. 100 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:26,160 In 1940, it's discovered in Qatar. 101 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:31,680 Oil is found in 1958 in the United Arab Emirates. 102 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,000 In Yemen in 1961. 103 00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:39,760 And in 1962, Oman finds oil. 104 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:41,280 [bubbling] 105 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:46,360 [rock 'n' roll music playing] 106 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:48,160 [narrator] After World War II, 107 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:52,640 America's newly-thriving middle class wants more convenience and luxury. 108 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:57,200 And, unscarred by the war, 109 00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:00,600 America's factories quickly pivot from making weapons 110 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:02,800 to churning out consumer goods, 111 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,720 increasing America's thirst for oil. 112 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:09,640 [man] A nation's standard of living surged forward. 113 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:14,960 [narrator] But postwar France and Britain start to lose their global influence... 114 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,800 and their grip on the oil supply... 115 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:22,640 especially when Middle Eastern nations realize 116 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:25,880 just how much wealth lies beneath their feet. 117 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:27,200 [machine guns firing] 118 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:30,640 They want to take control of their own destiny. 119 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:33,480 [explosions] 120 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:36,000 [man] British influence in Jordan is under a cloud. 121 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:38,400 [horn playing] 122 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:43,400 [narrator] Saudi Arabia formed its own Kingdom back in 1932. 123 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:47,600 In 1946, Syria and Lebanon free themselves from France. 124 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:51,480 That same year, Britain leaves Jordan. 125 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:59,600 But America still needs to keep that oil flowing. 126 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:01,360 Time to start cutting deals. 127 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:09,640 In 1951, America agrees to supply Saudi Arabia with arms 128 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:12,560 if they'll continue to supply America with oil. 129 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:17,400 The Saudi royal family is soon rolling in profits 130 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:18,400 and weapons. 131 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:24,200 And the rest of the oil-soaked nations in the Middle East sit up and take notice. 132 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:25,920 [fanfare playing] 133 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:27,960 [man] From Tehran, fanatical supporters 134 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:30,320 storming through the streets in a riotous mob. 135 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:35,320 [narrator] In 1953,  Iran's democratically-elected leader 136 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:39,400 kicks out the British after nationalizing  the country's oil fields 137 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:40,240 two years earlier. 138 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:41,280 [crowd clamoring] 139 00:08:41,680 --> 00:08:44,680 There's a power struggle to remove the monarch, the Shah. 140 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:50,600 The UK and the US are furious. 141 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:53,760 The Shah's a keen supporter of their oil interests. 142 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,760 American and British spies engineer a coup to return power to the throne. 143 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,360 [man] Literally overnight, the whole picture was reversed. 144 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:04,400 [shouting] 145 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:06,200 [narrator] They reinstate the Shah, 146 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:08,800 who had flown to Italy  to escape the violence. 147 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,000 [man] The stay of the Shah of Persia and Queen Soraya in Rome 148 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:14,400 was of short duration. 149 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:16,320 And, from the turmoil of Tehran, 150 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:19,520 news came that the royalist coup had been successful after all. 151 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:22,520 [narrator] But Iran isn't  the only Middle East nation 152 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:24,440 in political turmoil because of oil. 153 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,280 [man] Now the most dangerous crisis  of all: revolution in Iraq. 154 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:34,440 [narrator] In 1958, another coup. 155 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:36,360 This time, in Iraq. 156 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:40,120 The army seizes power, overthrowing the king, 157 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:43,240 a long-time supporter of British interests in the region. 158 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:46,760 [man] King Faisal, enthroned in 1953, 159 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:50,400 and his cousin, Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah, regent for 14 years, 160 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,400 were reported to have been murdered. 161 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:53,000 [applauding] 162 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:54,520 The young king and his government 163 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:57,240 had committed the crime of friendship with the West. 164 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:02,160 [narrator] The coup ends British influence over oil in Iraq 165 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:03,640 and leads to the rise of a man 166 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:06,480 who will later become  America's arch-enemy, 167 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:08,800 Saddam Hussein. 168 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:09,520 [cameras clicking] 169 00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:15,960 As the old colonial powers lose influence and new states emerge, 170 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,280 the Middle East takes on a new, independent spirit. 171 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:22,600 Oil-producing states start working together 172 00:10:22,680 --> 00:10:25,120 to protect the value of their oil fields. 173 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:28,360 They want Arabian oil for the Arabs. 174 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:35,160 In September 1960, they form a new and powerful alliance... 175 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:40,480 OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. 176 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:45,920 Its public mission is to stabilize oil prices and supply. 177 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,560 In truth, it's a price-fixing cartel. 178 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:56,160 The first Middle East members are Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. 179 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:01,320 But their new-found oil profits aren't being reinvested in their people. 180 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:06,800 Instead, Middle East autocrats use their riches 181 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:10,120 to spend lavishly on personal palaces, cars, 182 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:12,800 and military hardware. 183 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:16,200 In one deal, 184 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:19,640 the US supplies the Saudis  with an air defense system 185 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:22,880 worth $1.6 billion. 186 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:29,600 But the flow of riches for oil comes to a crashing halt in 1973 187 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:31,640 with the first oil shock. 188 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:34,400 The US dollar takes a nosedive, 189 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:36,280 and OPEC feels the pinch. 190 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:39,480 All their oil contracts are in dollars. 191 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:45,600 Flexing its muscles, OPEC embargoes oil exports to the United States, 192 00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:47,480 Western Europe, and Japan, 193 00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:51,360 drastically cutting back their supply so prices will rise. 194 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:54,440 [man] So here's what you  can look forward to, 195 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:57,160 the critical gasoline shortage by late spring. 196 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:00,280 Only the end of the embargo could change that outlook, 197 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:02,600 and it seems unlikely the Arabs will relent. 198 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:05,960 [narrator] Oil prices go through the roof. 199 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:10,520 From just under $3 a barrel to $11.50 a barrel. 200 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,760 Oil-dependent nations suffer a recession. 201 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:19,800 [man] The Western industrialized world was shocked. 202 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:25,600 OPEC's decisions were seen as high-handed, unreasonable, verging on blackmail. 203 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:32,720 [narrator] But while OPEC seems to be a powerful cartel with a unified voice, 204 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:37,480 its member nations are actually growing more suspicious of one another. 205 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:43,400 Are they telling each other the truth about how much oil they actually produce, 206 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:46,720 about the real size of their oil reserves? 207 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:51,840 And Iran and Iraq are about to collide. 208 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:56,960 [crowd chanting] 209 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:00,520 Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic revolution in Iran 210 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:02,120 worries Saddam Hussein, 211 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:05,240 who thinks the revolution may spread to his country. 212 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:09,120 The Ayatollah regards Saddam 213 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:12,440 as nothing more than a brutal, greedy tyrant. 214 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:20,480 In 1980, using planes and missiles bought by their oil riches, 215 00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:24,680 Iran and Iraq erupt into a devastating eight-year war. 216 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:31,280 Despite that, oil prices  actually plummet... 217 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:34,760 at the very worst time. Why? 218 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:39,480 Because the war comes  just as, globally, oil consumption dips 219 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:42,400 and other oil states are producing a lot more. 220 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:49,200 Meanwhile, after enduring those gas lines of the '70s, 221 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:52,960 Western nations wake up to their addiction to Middle East oil... 222 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:55,440 and start searching for other sources. 223 00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:59,240 OPEC, desperate to keep the cash coming in, 224 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,240 cuts production to keep oil prices high. 225 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:08,200 In the early 1980s, they cut their output by nearly half, 226 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:12,240 from around 30 million to 15 million barrels a day. 227 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:15,920 But oil prices still fall. 228 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:20,560 From almost $36 a barrel in 1980... 229 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:24,400 to around $14 in 1986, 230 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:26,840 because demand is dropping spectacularly. 231 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:33,400 OPEC's market share is slashed from 49% in 1976... 232 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:36,640 to just 28% in 1985. 233 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:41,560 [soldiers chanting] 234 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:45,320 1991, and we're back to the first Gulf War. 235 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:49,560 The conflict starts  when Saddam Hussein's troops 236 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:51,440 overrun neighboring Kuwait. 237 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:54,360 He claims they're cheating  on their oil quotas 238 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:56,920 and their oil fields actually belong to him. 239 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:00,880 The Western allies decide to intervene. 240 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:05,800 They can't afford to stand by anymore 241 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:08,320 while the Middle East oil producers rip each other apart. 242 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:13,240 The West's oil supply must be protected. 243 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:21,280 The US-led coalition is one  of the largest invasion forces in history. 244 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:25,400 As one peace activist noted, 245 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:28,720 "If Kuwait exported broccoli,  we wouldn't be there now." 246 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:33,680 Kuwait is once more in the hands of Kuwaitis, 247 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:35,680 in control of their own destiny. 248 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:37,760 We share in their joy. 249 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:42,560 [narrator] In the aftermath,  an uneasy truce emerges. 250 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:45,240 Saddam remains in power. 251 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:49,440 But everything changes on a bright, blue, autumn morning, 252 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:52,560 September the 11th, 2001. 253 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:54,680 [indistinct shouting] 254 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:57,680 -[man 1] Let's go, guys. -[man 2] Right here. 255 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:01,560 [narrator] The mastermind behind 9/11, Osama bin Laden, 256 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:06,800 and 15 of the 19 hijackers are all originally from Saudi Arabia. 257 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:11,520 But seeing as how that country is the biggest supplier of oil to the West, 258 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,680 punishing the Saudis wouldn't be a smart move. 259 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:18,600 Still, the US is hungry for an excuse to use its strength. 260 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:22,960 In 2003, America's old foe, Saddam Hussein, 261 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:25,360 has become even more unpredictable, 262 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:28,760 turning his oil taps on and off as he likes 263 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,200 and disrupting oil supplies to the West. 264 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:34,760 When America gets sketchy reports 265 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:37,560 Saddam might also have weapons of mass destruction... 266 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:40,440 [upbeat instrumental music playing] 267 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:43,320 ...they decide to act  once and for all. 268 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:54,480 The US launches air strikes and a ground invasion. 269 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:11,360 In the aftermath, Saddam is found hiding in a hole in the ground. 270 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:14,120 Three years later... 271 00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:15,760 he's executed. 272 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:17,400 [crowd shouting] 273 00:17:23,120 --> 00:17:25,000 It appears America and her allies 274 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:28,160 are now shaping events in the Middle East to their own liking. 275 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:29,320 [helicopter whirring] 276 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:33,360 But during wars and boom-and-bust cycles, 277 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:36,400 it's the people of the Middle East who suffer most, 278 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:39,520 always facing uncertainty and danger. 279 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:43,840 And always in the background, there is oil. 280 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:47,320 Prices keep rising, 281 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:51,520 and the Middle East is sitting on more oil resources than anyone else. 282 00:17:56,640 --> 00:18:02,520 In 2012, a barrel of OPEC crude oil costs over $109 a barrel, 283 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:05,440 four times the price in 2003. 284 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:12,920 Ten Middle East countries cover just 3.4% of the Earth's land surface. 285 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:15,840 Yet concentrated in this small area 286 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:19,480 is 48% of the world's known oil reserves. 287 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:23,840 Saudi Arabia has 17.2%. 288 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:25,760 Iran, 9%. 289 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:28,240 Iraq, 8.5%. 290 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:30,840 And Kuwait, 5.9%. 291 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:41,400 So OPEC continues to hold a tight fist on the future of oil. 292 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:43,360 Or does it? 293 00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:47,960 In 2008, America's fracking revolution kicks in. 294 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:52,640 Fracking, a nickname for hydraulic fracturing, 295 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:55,880 involves drilling down into energy-rich shale 296 00:18:55,960 --> 00:19:00,200 and pumping a highly-pressurized mixture  of water and chemicals into it, 297 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:03,520 releasing oil and natural gas from the rock. 298 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:07,880 Thanks in part to the success of fracking, 299 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:11,480 the US becomes the world's biggest single oil producer, 300 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:14,280 out-pacing the nations of the Middle East. 301 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:20,960 But also, more and more nations start turning away from oil altogether, 302 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:25,400 acknowledging the role fossil fuels play in global climate change. 303 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:29,480 So where will that leave the mighty towers of Dubai? 304 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,440 Ever since Middle East oil was first discovered, 305 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,400 it has brought incredible wealth to the region 306 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:40,760 and benefits and blessings to the wider world. 307 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:44,720 But it has also brought the curse of conflict, war, 308 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:45,960 and terrorism. 309 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:51,760 Now the region's dominance in oil production is at a crossroads. 310 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:55,240 The modern nations of the Middle East 311 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:58,480 have never known a world that does not covet their oil. 312 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:03,120 Perhaps, for everyone's sake, it's time they did. 313 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,000 [electronic music playing]