Epic Times Editorials: Making Sense of the Nonsense: The Syria Conflict: What it means for Your Tank

If you’re the kind of person who has been reading the articles, listening to the radio, and watching the endless coverage of the conflict overseas, then you are probably starting to wonder: Is this going to change my life? Are the far reaching arms of war going to come tapping on my door?

The answers are many, but there is a firm ground between them: these events will affect the everyday American. This is the first in a series of articles on what those effects will be.

Let’s start with your tank.

As most people know, a lot of the world’s gas comes from a few countries in the Middle East, of which we shall focus on two, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

Syria has been responsible for putting billions of gallons into the world market every year, making it one of the most important petroleum production centers in the world. So who will make up the deficit, with an unrelenting world demand calling for its tank to be filled?

Several countries, as it turns out, and most notably Saudi Arabia, have stepped up production in order to fill the gap. While this means that, at least for the time being, there will be enough gas to meet the demand, it also means that we can expect prices at the pump to keep rising, as fewer groups have more control over the supply.

Saudi Arabian petroleum companies have promised to attempt to keep the prices stable and at a relatively low level, though it is clear that this is only possible in a limited sense. Also, while Syria was not a large exporter to the United States, Saudi Arabia is, giving this heavy burden an extra edge.