Blog # 1-Syrian Oil Embargo could hit Prices

The Oil Market in the Middle East is crucial in other countries around the world and proves to have impacts on different countries as the price of gas continues to spiral up and impact economies. Syria is a country that has a significantly large impact on the oil industry today as the European Union imposes embargos on their crude oil exports. Syria produces about 370,000 barrels of oil per day and exports about 150,000 barrels of oil per day. Although Syria is not the biggest producing resource of oil due to Libya’s high quantity, the embargos have affected how other countries will make up for the loss of oil due to the civil war that has severely impacted Libya’s oil production. Libya supplied oil to countries such as France, Spain, and Italy. Due to the European Union’s embargos Syria will have to reroute their oil supply to other oil inventories to make a profit. With Libya’s shortened oil supply and Syria’s embargo on oil exports European refineries’ supply of oil will be even more scarce therefore making oil prices go up. Oil supply in the Middle East is a big issue in today’s society.

Since oil is a resource that is shared between countries this makes oil a topic of discussion in social problems. Oil consumption by oil refineries involve social interactions among people to disperse of the oil as the economic resources are supplied which in turn affects human conduct. The embargos against Syrian oil exports is an example of human conduct in action. If European oil prices are higher, European citizen are then obligated to spend more money on oil and less money in other areas of the economy which in turn affects America’s economy.

This article was an eye opener and really helped me see how one area of the world that involves something as simple as oil could affect the whole World and how their economy is conducted. The world today is globalized in a way that businesses everywhere are interlinked due to businesses expanding into various countries around the world. Getting insight on what is going on in economies around the globe is very interesting and shows just how important Sociology truly is.

Link to article: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/00a2acf6-d485-11e0-a42b-00144feab49a.html#axzz1WoyOEQSQ