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Richie (Robert Yarnall)Desert Venture (Part II) (ca. 1958)

"This is a story of a venture by American capital in a strange and ancient land," says the narrator. Shows the search and extraction of oil in Saudi Arabia, necessary to power the American "nation on wheels."


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Richie (Robert Yarnall)
Sponsor: Aramco (Arab-American Oil Company) / Standard Oil Company of California
Audio/Visual: Sd, C
Keywords: Middle East; Oil industry; Globalization

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Spuzz - - October 14, 2003
Subject: We should be so thankful
If you can get past the Saudis forever smiling to the Americans, this is a highly enjoyable educational film on how of course, the Americans were resposible for Oil in Saudi Arabia. Show with amaying color photography, this film was surpisingly easy to follow along and doesnt really get caught in scientific mumbo jumbo. I liked how the American workers in Saudi Arabia were treated to a health club, swimming pool, nice homes etc but what facilities provided for Saudi Arabian workers were not really explored.

Reviewer: NG - - May 27, 2003
Subject: America's answer to Commie Propaganda
Final words in the script of this propaganda film (to stirring music and imagery):

"Now that the risks have been taken. Now that the pioneering has been done, the way is open for other American companies to come into the Middle East and join in developing its resources for the benefit of its people and for the world. A guiding principle in our Aramco venture has been the belief that foreign capital cannot justify its presence in any land unless it operates in the interests of that land. Fully vindicating that principle has been the mutual trust and goodwill that has grown up between the American oilman and the Saudi Arab Government.

"Thus, American venture capital is developing new standards of life in an ancient realm, where a people with a glorious past are now building a glowing future with their partners on the other side of the world. East and West are united in pioneering a new frontier of progress. Serving the interest of the Saudi arabs, serving the interest of the United States, and demonstrating the vitality of the American System of Free Enterprise. A system which, from this new frontier, is pumping into the trade of the world: OIL, one of the materials that is making a truly great contribution to our modern civilization."

COMPARE THIS WITH THE CURRENT SITUATION IN SAUDI ARABIA:

From arabicnews.com, 3/5/2003: "Unemployment rate in this country which is the first ranking oil producing country, has been continuously increasing. An unofficial study issued yesterday estimated this increase at 30% of the Saudis eligible to work." (Other sources put unemployment around 20% but all agree that it is a cause for dissent.)

It's been getting worse for quite some time, looking at a book by Eliyahu Kanovsky:


"A recent report in The New York Times (14 July 1996) describes the Saudi economy as being 'near collapse.' There is probably an element of journalistic hyperbole in the description, but it is abundantly clear that disruptive forces, economic and other, are becoming stronger in Saudi Arabia. Amongst other things, the report notes the high rate of unemployment and other problems which make the situation 'ripe for unrest.'"

Now, remember that 15 of the 19 hijackers on September 11 were Saudis.

From the Kanovsky book again: A report in The Financial Times (11 July 1996) states that the annual allocation from the treasury to five thousand Saudi princes is $8 billion, absorbing about one fifth of Saudi Arabia's annual oil export revenues. In other words, the extended royal family, and others close to the royal family, continue to enjoy very high incomes, while many or most Saudis are suffering from declining living standards. [Remember that trust between the oilmen and the Saudi Arabian government? --NG] The report quotes an unnamed senior government official to the effect that most of the extremists... now come from poor families. Presumably they are recruited by organizations opposing the regime, including those responsible for the bombing of the American bases in Saudi Arabia in November 1995 and in June 1996.

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