Title: Arabia - Economy | Britannica
Headings: Economy of Arabia
Economy of Arabia
Content: Arabia - Economy | Britannica
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Economy of Arabia
The mineral resource of greatest value is oil. The Arabian Peninsula has the largest oil reserves in the world. With the exception of deposits in Yemen, the Arabian oil fields lie in the same great sedimentary basin as the fields of Iran and Iraq. Although oil was discovered in Iran in 1908, the first field on the Arabian side of the basin, in Bahrain, was not found until 1932. This inspired an intensive search in eastern Arabia that in time reached far into the interior. Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938, in Kuwait and Qatar in 1940, on the mainland of the Saudi Arabia/Kuwait Neutral Zone in 1953, on the mainland of Abu Dhabi in 1960, in Oman in 1964, in South Yemen in 1983, and in North Yemen in 1984. In 1951 oil was discovered in the Persian Gulf off Saudi Arabia, in 1958 in Abu Dhabi offshore, and in 1960 in the Saudi Arabia/Kuwait Neutral Zone offshore. Oil refinery on the island of Ḥālū in the Persian Gulf, Qatar. © Peter Sanders
In association with the oil are enormous amounts of natural gas. Making use of this gas commercially requires extremely large investments.