Why Are Oil and Gas Concentrated in the Persian Gulf? — How Earth's Coincidence Shakes the World

Why the Sea with the Most Oil and Gas on Earth is Shaking the World Now

The world has been repeatedly swayed by the underground riches of the Persian Gulf. It is not merely a sea lined with oil-producing countries. Over tens of millions of years, the Earth's plate movements have almost miraculously aligned to create a "place that produces, stores, and extracts oil and gas in large quantities," making it an exceptionally unique region. According to an explanatory article distributed by Phys.org on April 11, 2026, this area is concentrated with supergiant oil and gas fields, containing about half of the world's conventional oil reserves and about 40% of natural gas, all under a very limited surface area. Moreover, much of this wealth is contiguous with the Strait of Hormuz, the world's oil and LNG artery.

The world was reminded of its significance again in the spring of 2026. According to Reuters and the IEA, the war involving the US, Israel, and Iran, along with the disruption of passage through the Strait of Hormuz, suddenly turned the global oil market towards a supply shortage. The IEA described this as "the largest supply shock in the history of the global oil market." Although a ceasefire was being sought in early April and the resumption of fully loaded tanker passage was reported on April 11, the flow has not completely returned. The energy market is still deeply held by the fate of this one sea, the Persian Gulf.

So, why this sea? The answer lies in geology before geopolitics. Around the Persian Gulf, the collision between the Arabian Plate and the Eurasian Plate has continued for a long time, creating the complex Zagros fold belt on the Iranian side and developing a massive dome structure on the Arabian side. Furthermore, layers rich in organic matter from marine organisms spread thickly and widely, generating oil and gas under high temperature and pressure, with structures that trap them also in place. The result of all these elements—source rocks, reservoir rocks, and trapping structures—aligning at a high level is an unparalleled massive accumulation zone on Earth.

Moreover, what's important is not just the "quantity." The oil and gas in the Persian Gulf are easier to produce compared to other regions due to favorable geological conditions. The Phys.org article explains that wells in this region can have 2 to 5 times the output per day compared to the best wells in the North Sea or Russia. Saudi Arabia's Ghawar Field is known as the world's largest oil field, and the South Pars/North Dome shared by Qatar and Iran is one of the world's largest gas fields. In other words, the Persian Gulf is not just a "place where resources are buried," but a "huge and easily extractable place."

The relationship between this region and humanity predates the modern oil industry. Even before the sea filled and formed the current Persian Gulf at the end of the Ice Age, natural oil and gas seepages existed in the surrounding areas, and ancient people used bitumen for building joints and waterproofing ships. The modern discovery was in Iran in 1908, and the exploration expansion in the 1950s and 60s made it clear that this region was exceptional. Even with the discovery of massive resource areas like Western Siberia or the Permian Basin in the US, there are still few examples that match the Persian Gulf in both scale and productivity.

This "exceptional nature" is also well reflected in the reactions on public SNS. On Reddit, in a thread asking why there is so much oil in the Middle East, explanations emphasizing that "the crude oil in this region is easy to extract and compatible with existing refining facilities" gained support, and differences from heavy resources like Canada's bitumen were discussed. Even without reading expert papers, many people intuitively understand that the same "oil" is not the same in cost or quality. The value of the Persian Gulf cannot be measured by reserve numbers alone.

On the other hand, on SNS, there is a strong sense of crisis about "if we burn through such a quantity of hydrocarbons, the atmosphere will become hell." Although comments on this topic on Hacker News are few, they hit the core of the issue. Geologically, it is a marvel, but from a climate perspective, it is terrifying. The vast reserves are assets that can enrich nations but also a massive powder keg that could accelerate global warming.

Furthermore, in today's SNS, such articles are not read merely as "geological trivia." Rather, they are consumed in the context of "Is this why the world is bound to the Strait of Hormuz?" According to the IEA, the Strait of Hormuz typically carries about 20% of the world's oil consumption, and much of Qatar and UAE's LNG exports pass through here. The AP reported that this crisis exposed the reality of the world's dependence on vulnerable fossil fuel routes, and countries with more advanced renewable energy expansion tend to have relative resilience to shocks. On SNS, the perception that "this is a warning to hasten renewable energy and electrification" is spreading, and in another Hacker News thread, it has developed into a heated debate including the practicality of EVs, the limits of renewable energy, and electricity price issues.

When considering this in relation to Japan, the story becomes even heavier. According to Reuters, Japan relies on the Middle East for about 95% of its crude oil supply and is considering additional reserve releases as of April 2026. In other words, the geology of the Persian Gulf is not a distant science story. It is a reality directly connected to Japan's gasoline prices, logistics costs, electricity rates, and ultimately household and corporate activities. The "coincidence of the Earth" where giant oil and gas fields are concentrated in the Persian Gulf is also a weakness in Japan's energy security.

What makes this article interesting is that it reveals the "deeper layers" that war and diplomatic news tend to obscure. Why this region? Why is it hard to substitute elsewhere? Why does the market become so sensitive? The answer lies underground. Plate collisions, ocean sedimentation, organic accumulation, limestone reservoirs, massive anticline structures. Such geological accumulations are the foundation of 21st-century price surges, ceasefire negotiations, and renewable energy debates. The frontline of news is actually on the extension of ancient Earth history.

And looking at the reactions on SNS, it is clear that the world is not feeling simple amazement about this topic. There are at least three emotions. One is the understanding of "I see, that's why it's the Middle East." Another is the anxiety of "That's why the world is so fragile." And the third is the urgency of "Then we have no choice but to change our dependencies." The Persian Gulf is a sea that simultaneously symbolizes richness and precariousness. The resources lying there still have the power to drive the world economy, while also exposing the fact that the world has not yet ended its dependence on fossil fuels. Because wealth is concentrated, crises are also concentrated. The world of 2026 is learning this fact more vividly than ever.

List of Source URLs

The explanatory article that formed the basis of this manuscript. The overall geological reasons for the concentration of oil and gas in the Persian Gulf
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-persian-gulf-oil-gas-earth.html

USGS document (evaluation suggesting the possibility of 86 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and 336 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Arabian Peninsula to Zagros fold belt)
https://www.usgs.gov/publications/assessment-undiscovered-conventional-oil-and-gas-resources-arabian-peninsula-and

USGS Fact Sheet PDF (summary document close to the original source of the above evaluation)
https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3115/fs2012-3115.pdf

EIA document (confirmation that the oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz is about 20% of world consumption)
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65504

EIA Feature (details on the Strait of Hormuz as a major oil transit chokepoint in the world)
https://www.eia.gov/international/content/analysis/special_topics/World_Oil_Transit_Chokepoints/

IEA document (impact on the global market due to the Strait of Hormuz disruption, positioned as one of the largest supply shocks in oil market history)
https://www.iea.org/news/new-iea-report-highlights-options-to-ease-oil-price-pressures-on-consumers-in-response-to-middle-east-supply-disruptions

IEA Explanation (explanation of how dependent Qatar and UAE's LNG is on the Strait of Hormuz, with significant impact on Asia)
https://www.iea.org/about/oil-security-and-emergency-response/strait-of-hormuz

Reuters article (analysis that the impact of the war as of April 2026 has turned the market towards a supply shortage)
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-whiplash-iran-war-shock-flip-market-deficit-2026-analysts-say-2026-04-10/

Reuters article (analysis that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has different impacts on each oil-producing country)
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/hormuz-closure-divides-fortunes-middle-eastern-oil-states-2026-04-06/

Reuters article (report that Japan is considering additional reserve releases due to its high dependence on the Middle East)
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/japan-weighs-new-release-about-20-days-worth-oil-reserves-kyodo-says-2026-04-09/

AP article (summary of how this crisis is strengthening the argument for hastening renewable energy and electrification)
https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-wars-renewable-energy-asia-4b5fe0693ce5816472c905db85f7da6e

Reddit public thread (example of general user reactions and explanations to "why is there so much oil in the Middle East")
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1scj5a4/eli5_why_does_the_gulf_middle_east_have_so_much/

Hacker News post (example of public reaction to this article, with strong expression of climate-related concerns)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47684277