The Politics of the Global Oil Industry: An Introduction

Toyin Falola and Ann Genova in their work "The Politics of the Global Oil Industry: An Introduction" attempt to figure out this set of related questions: "What
is petroleum? Why is it valuable? What is the connection between oil and politics (3)?" Falola and Genova give a cursory answer to these questions when they
say "oil represents a highly complex international issue...oil and politics are intricately connected...regardless of location, history, or culture, oil has represented
both a blessing and a curse for all oil-producing nations (2)."

The countries that hold reserves of oil are not the only players in the Falola and Genova work. Equally important to the creation of the oil economy in the formation that it resides currently are the multinational firms, who have provided various amount of technology, skills, and assistance to the nations that Falola and Genova focus on during the work. This relationship between states and non-state actors grow ever more complex with the inclusion of supranational organizations like OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and OAPEC (Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries).

Falola and Genova claim that the relationships between those nations that have the oil and transnational companies that wish to have a share of profits generated by the drilling of a nation's oil is complex enough, but that is only one side of the equation. The nations, supranational organizations, and transnational organizations only reflect one side of the oil equations, with those nations that use (demand) oil being another part. Tied to this demand are non-national environmental organizations, which include Greenpeace, Project Underground, and Environmental Rights Action. These organizations, depending on their philosophy, either want the demand for oil to decrease (through the development and increased use of other, more biologically-friendly sources of energy), or the process of the creation of oil to be more environmentally conscious.