Oil's Hidden Hand: How Control of Energy Resources Shapes Global Conflicts

The ownership and control of oil have shaped global politics and conflicts since it became a valuable commodity. The Red Line and Achnacarry Agreements of 1928, which aimed to control world oil prices, are an early example. Mexico's expropriation of 1938 and Iran's nationalization of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1951 followed.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded in 1960, leading to a wave of nationalizations after the 1973 embargo. The United Nations declared the right of peoples and nations to permanent sovereignty over their natural wealth and resources, integrating this principle into the New International Economic Order.

The 1973 Arab-Israeli War led OPEC members to increase oil prices and decide who could buy it, favoring non-pro-Israeli countries. In response, the US convened an international energy meeting in early 1974, creating the International Energy Program under the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The IEA's emergency powers were never invoked despite disruptions like the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the Iran-Iraq War in 1980. The organization has continued to provide reliable data on energy supply through its World Energy Outlook publication, promoting technological innovation.