Distribution of Oil and Gas Resources in the Middle East

The Middle East includes 24 countries and regions, including Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Yemen, Palestine, and Turkey. Nine major sedimentary basins have developed in the Middle East, and cover a total area of about 626 × 104 km2. The main types of onshore basins are foreland basins and passive margin basins, and the main types of offshore basins are rift basins and passive margin basins. The Middle East has the most abundant oil and gas resources, and 22.1% of the world’s oil and gas resources are concentrated in this region. The recoverable oil and gas resources in the Middle East amount to 4124.4 × 108 tons of oil equivalent.