Modern Navajo tribal government originated in 1923 solely to approve oil leases. From that beginning, the responsibilities and functions of tribal government expanded, fostering economic and political changes that brought the Dine people into closer contact with their Anglo neighbors. As tribal government undertook more projects, the revenue from oil and natural gas leases became key parts of the Navajo Nation's finances. This book is an ethnohistory of the changes wrought by oil. The economic development spurred by oil leases is a cautionary tale in the transition from a subsistence to a capitalist economy. The federal stock reduction program imposed in the 1930s and 1940s devastated the Navajo agricultural economy and altered family structure. Women had owned and cared for the sheep and goat herds which were now reduced in number by hundreds of thousands. Oil did offer some wage work, but only for men who dug trenches, laid pipe, or drove trucks. Following the end of World War II as the millions of dollars generated annually from oil and gas leases became available to the impoverished Navajo Nation, inter-clan squabbles erupted over uses for the money. Navajo was set against Navajo in disputes over lifeways and identity of the Dine people. This book is also an assessment of the price the land and culture of the Navajo ultimately paid for oil. Sadly, greater involvement in Anglo society meant less reverence for the land and sacred sites of the Dine.

-- Leading oil consultant offers a damning critique of US policy -- Oil is the lifeblood of modern economics. It is the precious resource at the heart of empire-building -- from the British empire to the American empire today. It underpins the world's financial markets. But seventy per cent of the world's oil supplies lie under the sands of the Middle East. Did the US invade Iraq to grab Iraq's oil? Many people think so. This book shows how this is part of a wider US attempt to dominate international oil and maintain America's global dominance. Written by an influential oil consultant, with experience of working in both the US and Arab oil industries, this book provides a rare insight into the real motivations behind US intervention in the Arab world, and the relationship between the US and the Arab states. Zalloum provides a historical account of the roots of today's involvement, analysing US intervention in the Arab World since the 19th century. Zalloum provides an account of America's changing role in OPEC. He examines the fate of Iraq's oil and the involvement of US contractors. He also analyses the role of oil in America's relationship with Israel, providing an important insight into how this dynamic is viewed in the Arab world. The book offers a unique perspective on how the US is viewed in the Arab region and how progress should be made if real peace and stability are to be brokered.

In order to prioritize exploration activities, oil and gas companies need to follow a framework. This important procedural envelope is critical to the success of any oil and gas venture. Decision makers need to consider a multitude of variables before they decide whether or not to pursue any petroleum project. Before a decision to drill a well can be made, some important questions need to be answered; some of these questions revolve around the need for assurance that a well will bring wealth to the organization or parties that drill it. A decision maker therefore has to start by asking whether a venture is worth pursuing from an economic perspective. The answer to this question forms the heart of petroleum investment; and supporting this process by building petroleum economic models is what this book is all about. This book offers a basic understanding of the methods required to build economic models for valuing upstream petroleum projects. The book offers an overview of the fundamentals of some of the major petroleum contracts, simple commercial concepts and how to use them for creating valuation models.

Are oil-rich countries prone to war? And, if so, why? There is a widely held belief that contemporary wars are motivated by the desire of great powers like the United States or Russia to control precious oil resources and to ensure energy security. This book argues that the main reason why oil-rich countries are prone to war is because of the character of their society and economy. Sectarian groups compete for access to oil resources and finance their military adventures through smuggling oil, kidnapping oil executives, or blowing up pipelines. Outside intervention only makes things worse. The use of conventional military force as in Iraq can bring neither stability nor security of supply. This book examines the relationship between oil and war in six different regions: Angola, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Indonesia, Nigeria and Russia. Each country has substantial oil reserves, and has a long history of conflict. The contributors assess what part oil plays in causing, aggravating or mitigating war in each region and how this relation has altered with the changing nature of war. It offers a novel conceptual approach bringing together Kaldor's work on 'new wars' and Karl's work on the petro-state.

Born on a farm near Anahuac, Texas, in 1875 and possessed of only a fourth-grade education, Ross Sterling was one of the most successful Texans of his generation. Driven by a relentless work ethic, he become a wealthy oilman, banker, newspaper publisher, and, from 1931 to 1933, one-term governor of Texas. Sterling was the principal founder of the Humble Oil and Refining Company, which eventually became the largest division of the ExxonMobil Corporation, as well as the owner of the Houston Post. Eager to "preserve a narrative record of his life and deeds," Ross Sterling hired Ed Kilman, an old friend and editorial page editor of the Houston Post, to write his biography. Though the book was nearly finished before Sterling's death in 1949, it never found a publisher due to Kilman's florid writing style and overly hagiographic portrayal of Sterling. In this volume, by contrast, editor Don Carleton uses the original oral history dictated by Ross Sterling to Ed Kilman to present the former governor's life story in his own words. Sterling vividly describes his formative years, early business ventures, and active role in developing the Texas oil industry. He also recalls his political career, from his appointment to the Texas Highway Commission to his term as governor, ending with his controversial defeat for reelection by "Ma" Ferguson. Sterling's reminiscences constitute an important primary source not only on the life of a Texan who deserves to be more widely remembered, but also on the history of Houston and the growth of the American oil industry.

"Ninety percent of the world's oil reserves are entrusted to state-owned companies. Originally created as political instruments, these so-called national oil companies (NOCs) face new demands amid today's dwindling oil reserves and simmering social pressures. Increasingly, state-owned oil firms-particularly in the Middle East-are having to balance the political demands of their governments with the need to be commercially competitive. In this ground-breaking new volume, Valerie Marcel draws on unprecedented access to the politicians, engineers; and businessmen directing five Middle Eastern state oil companies to shed light on one of the most secretive segments of the international oil industry. The author tells the stories of Saudi Aramco, Kuwait Petroleum Corp., the National Iranian Oil Co., Sonatrach of Algeria, and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.-oil titans which together produce one quarter of the world's oil and hold half of the world's known oil and gas reserves. Dr. Marcel explains the complex bond between each state and its oil company, tracing the relationship's evolution from the politically charged days of foreign concessions to today's world of profit-driven decisionmaking. Drawn from over 120 interviews with company executives, middle managers, and oil-ministry officials, the author identifies a number of surprising new trends in these companies' strategy, and she paints a picture of their nascent sense of corporate identity. The book provides rare, up-to-date insight into how state-owned companies are striking a balance between their national mission and their commercial needs. The book also provides an insider's guide to these companies' unique culture. Executives and researchers in the region-both inside and outside the oil industry-will find it a valuable tool for understanding business in the Middle East. "

To help prevent a repetition of the economic dislocation caused by the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, Congress authorised the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA, P.L. 94-163). Physically, the SPR comprises five underground storage facilities, hollowed out from naturally occurring salt domes, located in Texas and Louisiana. Oil stored at one of the sites, Weeks Island, was transferred after problems with the structural integrity of the cavern were discovered in the mid-1990s. Hurricane Katrina made landfall early in the morning of August 29, 2005 inflicting severe damage and shutting down oil and gas production and refining activities in the Gulf of Mexico. Damage assessments continue. By September 2, three requests for loans totalling 8.5 million barrels had been approved; a few others are pending. The Administration also announced it was making 30 million barrels available. However, as a policy tool to respond to the crisis, the SPR has limitations because a barrel of crude contributes to product supply only if there is refining capacity to turn the crude into gasoline or diesel fuel. Consequently, recovery from the hurricane's effects will depend upon resumption of production and refining operations in the Gulf, and the ability to transport petroleum products. On August 8, 2005, the President signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (H.R. 6). The bill as enacted permanently authorises the SPR and requires, "as expeditiously as practicable," expansion of the SPR to its authorised maximum of 1 billion barrels. The Secretary is required to develop procedures for achieving the fill objective without "incurring excessive cost," or placing upward pressure on prices. Any fill policy is also to take into consideration minimising income foregone to the Treasury by filling the SPR with additional royalty-in-kind (RIK) oil.

Many people in the world today believe Bush's war against Saddam Hussein is only about oil. Iraq has the second biggest petroleum reserves in the Middle East, and America's relations with its prime supplier Saudi Arabia have turned sour in the wake of 9/11. Invading Iraq, so many argue, is merely colonising an oil field. Oil has transformed the world and remains the most important resource of our age. It has made the wealth of millions of people - from Venezuela to Norway via the Persian Gulf - and holds their futures in its fortunes. The Middle East is the earth's greatest petroleum depot. It is also the most explosive region in the world today. Now more than ever, with the global economy under severe threat, oil is of prime geopolitical concern. Crude Power provides a comprehensive analysis both of the world's dependency on Middle Eastern oil, and of the very dangerous way politics and economics play themselves out in the oil game - as producers and consumers tug at each others' interests. It is a tug of war: Oystein Noreng explains what all concerned are fighting for. Placing OPEC (the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) into its wider world context, he examines in detail how shifting oil prices affect everything from international trade balances to inflation rates. In the current political climate of the Middle East and Central Asia, with anti-Americanism and the threat of terrorism in such countries as Saudi Arabia running high, oil holds the future of the world economy as well as thousands of lives in its hands. Crude Power is an indispensable book for anyone concerned with the fate of the world today, and that most important of issues: the interplay of power and money in the Middle East and beyond.

The petroleum industry is among the most lucrative and most important in the world, and its impact within the realm of international politics is tremendous (although it can be overstated). Taking a well-balanced and objective approach to the complicated web of political and economic threads that make up the fabric of the oil industry, Falola and Genova introduce the most salient aspects in clear language, offering cogent and up-to-date information about the countries, companies, international organizations, and people who shape the contemporary history of the black gold.

The relationship of international politics and the global oil industry affects everyone but is understood by few. Taking a well-balanced and objective approach to deconstructing this intricate web for those unfamiliar with the industry, Falola and Genova introduce the major players in the field, offering cogent and up-to-date information about the countries, companies, organizations, and people who shape the contemporary history of oil. They break down the essentials, describing the discovery process, the different types of oil, and the various processes by which oil gets to the market. Then they provide a brief history of the major oil-producing countries, followed by a discussion of OPEC and international efforts to control the price and supply of oil. After setting the stage, they introduce the most salient political issues that are influenced by oil, namely environmental protection, human rights, and economic development. Finally, a look at each of seven major oil exporters--Iraq, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela--demonstrates that the black gold can be both a blessing and a curse for the countries that produce it.

Despite the need to learn how to exploit alternative energy sources before the oil runs out, we will continue to be dependent on oil for the foreseeable future. Today's oil demands are not only generated by such obvious activities as gassing up our cars or powering our aircraft, but also from the ubiquitous technological gadgets that have infiltrated our daily lives. From computer monitors to CDs, from cell phones to the petroleum-generated materials used in our shoes and sweaters, our reliance on oil continues to grow. Because price and supply are highly dependent on political events in distant countries, it is essential for American consumers to understand the intricacies of this complex subject. Falola and Genova demystify the industry and invite us to investigate more deeply this vital resource.

One of the major policy challenges for the US following the events of September 11 2001 and their aftermaths has been how to reduce the country's dependence on oil from the Middle East. There have been suggestions of policy shifts in Washington in which Africa's share of US oil imports will rise dramatically over the next few years. Nigeria, one of the world's largest producers of crude oil, is believed to have more than 30 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, mostly in the Niger Delta areas. Despite this huge reserve however, crude supplies from the country remains at best erratic largely because of conflicts, violence and the rise of ethnic militias in the oil-producing areas of the country. The book explores the causes, sources and dynamics of the conflicts between the oil-bearing communities and oil companies in Nigeria. Taking its point of departure from the social interaction paradigm, it argues that the conflicts in the Niger Delta are embedded in the triangular relationship between the government, the oil companies and the host communities. ________ Austin Onuoha, studied History at the University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria and did graduate studies in Conflict Transformations at the Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA. He has worked on issues of human rights and conflict resolution in, and around the Niger Delta of Nigeria for over 10 years, including as the Executive Secretary/Head of Conflict Resolution at the Human Rights Commission, Abakaliki, Nigeria. He was also a consultant to the Centre for Social and Corporate Responsibility (CSCR) based in Nigeria's oil capital, Port Harcourt. He is currently a doctoral candidate in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at the Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and USA.

Essays covering five case studies to gain an insight into the unique Latin American approach to petroleum resources and industries.

A legend among oilmen, Tom Slick was an independent operator in the truest sense. His office was his buggy during his early days of wildcatting the Mid-Continent oil field around 1910. And even after great success brought him to posher surroundings in an Oklahoma City office suite, his style remained hands-on. His impromptu deals were often brokered on street corners and over the telephone in his typical laconic style. Well into the 1920s he was the last of a breed who had no stock holders or board members to answer to, and instead "worked out of his hip pocket." Slick's extraordinary rise paralleled that of the modern petroleum industry. He began his career in the oil fields of western Pennsylvania, the birthplace of the American oil business. Before 1910, he headed west, traveling with his father and brother to the fields of Kansas to work as contract drillers. Slick met with failure in these early years, as he moved on to Oklahoma in an attempt to locate oil. In 1912 he received the financial backing to drill one more well, which turned out to be the discovery well for the vast Cushing Field. This amazing success was followed by more discoveries of fields - a frenzy of acquiring, drilling, then selling that in 1929 culminated with Slick's sale of his Oklahoma holdings in the Prairie Oil and Gas Company - up until that time, the largest sale of oil properties by an individual. In this first biography of Tom Slick, Ray Miles fleshes out the man who, despite his legendary drive - and the high-profile nature of the oil business - was exceedingly private and withdrawn. Miles relies on newspaper accounts, court and business records, correspondence, and personal interviews with family, friends, and associates to render a portrait of one of the most successful and colorful, yet elusive, businessmen of his day.

A thorough introduction to environmental monitoring in the oil and gas industry Analytical Techniques in the Oil and Gas Industry for Environmental Monitoring examines the analytical side of the oil and gas industry as it also provides an overall introduction to the industry. You'll discover how oil and natural gas are sourced, refined, and processed. You can learn about what's produced from oil and natural gas, and why evaluating these sourced resources is important. The book discusses the conventional analyses for oil and natural gas feeds, along with their limitations. It offers detailed descriptions of advanced analytical techniques that are commercially available, plus explanations of gas and oil industry equipment and instrumentation. You'll find technique descriptions supplemented with a list of references as well as with real-life application examples. With this book as a reference, you can prepare to apply specific analytical methods in your organization's lab environment. Analytical Techniques can also serve as your comprehensive resource on key techniques in the characterization of oil and gas samples, within both refinery and environmental contexts. Understand of the scope of oil and gas industry techniques available Consider the benefits and limitations of each available process Prepare for applying analytical techniques in your lab See real examples and a list of references for each technique Read descriptions of off-line analytics, as well as on-line and process applications As a chemist, engineer, instructor, or student, this book will also expand your awareness of the role these techniques have in environmental monitoring and environmental impact assessments.

"In the United States, proposals for gasoline tax hikes have consistently met with broad-based congressional opposition. Although such taxes are a common and effective method of conserving energy in other industrialized nations, U.S. policy has traditionally relied on regulatory programs rather than fuel taxes to promote energy efficiency in automotive transportation. This book examines both the political causes and the economic effects of this idiosyncratic policy preference. Moderating the consumption and importation of oil has been an explicit goal of the United States over the past twenty years. Pietro S. Nivola and Robert W. Crandall argue that a higher levy on gasoline would be a more efficient way of achieving this goal than current automotive fuel economy standards. In fact, they find that an additional excise of less than twenty-five cents per gallon over the past dozen years would have conserved more oil than has the existing policy of administering gas mileage requirements for new passenger vehicles. And such a tax, they maintain, would not be as detrimental to the economy as opponents fear, nor as regressive as they claim. Why, then, is there such a strong national resistance to a fuel tax in the United States? And why is there less resistance in other countries? The authors examine the development of motor-fuel excises in Great Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and Canada, and explain the historical and political factors that have led to different national policy orientations. Turning their attention back to the United States, Nivola and Crandall show how regulatory measures have fallen short of their goal and why political barriers to bolder taxation of gasoline remain formidable. They conclude by offering suggestions for new directions in U.S. energy policy at the federal, state, and local level. "

This text analyses the causes and far-reaching consequences of Iran's oil nationalization during the 1950s, focusing on the extensive and misguided involvement of the United States and Great Britain.

The Polar North is known to be home to large gas and oil reserves and its positionholds signifi cant trading and military advantages, yet the maritime boundaries of the region remain ill-defined. In the twenty-first century the Arctic is undergoing profound change. As the sea ice melts, a result of accelerating climate change, global governance has become vital. In this first of three volumes, the latest research and analysis from the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, the world's leading Arctic research body, is brought together. Arctic Governance: Law and Politics investigates the legal and political order of the Polar North, focusing on governance structures and the Law of the Sea. Are the current mechanisms at work effective? Are the Arctic states' interests really clashing, or is the atmosphere of a more cooperative nature? Skilfully delineating policy in the region and analysing the consequences of treaty agreements, Arctic Governance's uncovering of a rather orderly 'Arctic race' will become an indispensable contribution to contemporary International Relations concerning the Polar North.

In the last quarter of the twentieth century the United States is both more involved in the global political economy and less able to shape its course. In this lucid and theoretically sophiticated book, Ikenberry focuses on the oil price shocks of 1973-74 and 1979, which placed extraordinary new burdens on governments worldwide and partiuclarly on that of the United States.

The outrageous sequel to Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs (She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse) brings more great stories from the far side of civilization - hilarious, full of humour, colourful characters and dramatic action! Just another glorious day in the oilfield for Paul Carter! He's stuck in the middle of the Russian sea on a rig staffed by a crew from Azerbaijan. The choppers are older than him and can only fly by line of sight, turning back regularly due to the weather which gets particuarly interesting when they are past the point of no return with half there fuel gone and they are committed to finding the rig in a fog that's thicker than a Big Brother housemate. The closest thing to a hotel for miles around is the Asylum, a former soviet mental institution that now houses offshore personnel en-route to the rig, where his room mates are Vodka Bob - who drinks Guinness for breakfast when he's not on the rig - Sick Boy, who snores like a pit bull being hot-waxed and Sealbasher. In his inimitable style Paul Carter regales us with his colourful adventures from the front line of thee oil industry and the far side of civilization!

"Oil," writes Ruth Sheldon Knowles, "is the most hazardous, expensive, heartbreaking gambling game in the world." And, as this book dramatically proves, the men who have been the gamblers of the American oil business have been some of the most colorful and fantastic personalities in our history.

"The Greatest Gamblers "is the story of our remarkable oilmen and the vast industry they have created-from its simple beginnings in 1859 at Titusville, Pennsylvania, to the big-business oil operations of today. Here are the wildcatters, the prospectors, the scientists, the hunch players (Mrs. Knowles points out that independent oilmen have discovered more than three-fourths of America's oil fields). Here you will meet "unlucky" Dad Joiner, whose fortunes changed only in his seventies when a worthless ten-acre tract of Texas wasteland proved the key to one of America's two biggest oil fields; and H. 1. Hunt, who parlayed an oil lease he won at a poker game into an oil business that made him one of the richest men in the United States.

Harry Sinclair ... Tom Slick ... Mike Benedum ... Everette DeGolyer ... Charles Canfield ... Edward Doheny -- the pages of this book are crowded with the stories of such men, their tough boom towns, their dogged persistence and wild successes, and the brutal competition they faced.

But "The Greatest Gambler "is also the story of a prospectors' rush that has become an organized industry. An absorbing portion of the book tells how the industry has found new uses for petroleum and its by products, and how this sometimes involved as much heartbreak as prospecting. There were the ships that exploded when oilmen first tried to market petroleum as marine fuel, the locomotive roundhouse that blew up when they first tried to convert railroads to oil. Mrs. Knowles discusses knowledgeably the present predicament of the petroleum industry and what is necessary to find and develop America's remaining great oil and gas resources. "The Greatest Gamblers "is a lively and authoritative account of what is probably the most fascinating and adventurous business of all.

In August of 1942, Great Britain faced a desperate situation. German bombers hammered the nation's industrial cities and towns daily, and the toll in loss of life and resources rose steadily. Guy H. Woodward and Grace Steele Woodward tell for the first time the story of how the British, with the aid of forty-four oilfield roughnecks from the United States, developed vital shallow pools of oil in Britain's famed Sherwood Forest. THE SECRET OF SHERWOOD FOREST is based on thousands of reports, letters, and documents released to the authors in 1968. Guy H. Woodward was a lawyer, former general counsel for the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association in Washington, and former chair of the American Petroleum Institute's production section. Grace Steele Woodward was the author of numberous books, including THE CHEROKEES and POCAHONTAS also published by the University of Oklahoma Press.

In January 1969, the blowout on an offshore oil platform off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, and the resulting oil spill proved to be a transformative event in pollution control and the nascent environmental activism movement. It accelerated the advancement of federal government policies and would change the way the federal government managed environmental pollution. Over the next three years, Congress worked to pass laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, and revolutionized the way that the United States dealt with environmental pollution. At the same time, scientists developed methods to detect chemical pollution that had been discharged into rivers and streams by industrial facilities. Slick Policy presents an original and in-depth history of the 1969 Santa Barbara spill. Teresa Sabol Spezio provides a background of water pollution control, government oversight of federally-funded projects, and chemical detection methods in place prior to the spill. She then shows how scientists and politicians used public outrage over the spill to implement wide-ranging changes to federal environmental and science policy, and demonstrates the advancements to offshore oil drilling, pollution technology, and water protection law that resulted from these actions.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is one of the most recognizable acronyms among international organizations. It is mainly associated with the 'oil shock' of 1973 when prices of petroleum quadrupled and industrialized countries and consumers were forced to face the limits of their development model. This is the first history of OPEC and of its members written by a professional historian. It carries the reader from the formation of the first petrostate in the world, Venezuela in the late 1920s, to the global ascent of petrostates and OPEC during the 1970s, to their crisis in the late-1980s and early- 1990s. Formed in 1960, OPEC was the first international organization of the Global South. It was perceived as acting as the economic 'spearhead' of the Global South and acquired a role that went far beyond the realm of oil politics. Petrostates such as Venezuela, Nigeria, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran were (and continue to be) key regional actors, and their enduring cooperation, defying wide political and cultural differences and even wars, speaks to the centrality of natural resources in the history of the twentieth century, and to the underlying conflict between producers and consumers of these natural resources.