Oil and the Arabian Penninsula
Let There Be Oil!
When oil was discovered in the 1930s, it greatly changed the ways of life for the Arab people living there. It brought enormous amounts of wealth to the Arabian Peninsula. Money from the oil was used toward the modernization of the region.
economic activity
Click for map of economic activity
Modernization
- Many public services were provided for free.
- Hospitals, schools, roads, airports, and apartment building were build.
- Many other services were heavily subsidized by the government.
Desalinization
Industrial desalinization plants were created to create a much less scarce recourse: water. These plants were used to remove the salt from the water so it could be used for drinking and irrigation.