Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. These changes marked the beginning of a new oil economy in the Middle East.
             By the 1950's oil was becoming an important source of income in the Middle East. The Ghawar and Safinaya oil fields were found (the largest known to date), infrastructure was established such as the pipeline from Eastern Saudi Arabia to Sidon, and the diversification of outlets streamlined exportation. In addition, oil processing became more developed and diversified with processes such as the use of water and gas injection by Aramco. At the same time, government incentives and the Oil Company's desire to diversify encouraged oil exploration.
             Saudi Arabia and Kuwait expanded and grew their production from 0-58,000 barrels per day in 1945 and to 1.24-1.62 million per day in 1960. Iran and Iraq also increased production despite their political instability which hindered progress. In fact, Middle Eastern oil exports increased 4 times from 1960 till 1970 while the world demand for oil tripled.
             Since the 1970's oil production has continued, however the oil industry has shifted their focus from production and exportation of crude oil to refinement. Current estimates show that there are 660 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in the Middle East: 99% of these reserves are in the Persian Gulf while 1% is in Egypt. In 1994, the Middle East was the source for 41-46% of Europe and North America's oil, leaving these nations indirectly dependent on the Middle East.
             Oil has had a significant impact on Middle Eastern Economies; however, impact has been different from country to country and for many different reasons. In fact, discussion of many of the countries could easily encompass an entire book. As a result, I will only attempt to give a brief overview of the impact that oil has had in the Middle East.
             Middle Eastern economies began to change concurrently to the Middle East's incorporati...