Even if they controlled the disputed oil-rich area around Kirkuk, their foes could block the flow of oil which is why maps in party headquarters show a Kurdish state arching all the way from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf.

ECONOMIST: Iraq and the Kurds

Bangladesh has taken India to court over an oil-rich area in the Bay of Bengal.

ECONOMIST: How to solve spats over sea borders

But the researchers' routine is shattered when a turf war erupts between tribal drug smugglers and military forces sent by the government to secure the oil-rich area for investment.

ECONOMIST: The call of the Amazon

The P-36 was located in an especially oil-rich area off the coast of Rio de Janiero, and was expected to produce 180, 000 barrels per day in the near future, making the explosion an even greater loss.

FORBES: Disaster Of The Day: Petrobras

While the Saudi royal family has more room to maneuver than other oil rich tyrants in the area, it is getting smaller and smaller.

FORBES: Saudi Regime Isn't The Culprit NYT's Friedman Claims, Says Prince Alwaleed

Angola lies on the western coast of southern Africa, a country of 18 million people living in an oil- and diamond-rich area about twice the size of Texas.

FORBES: Isabel Dos Santos, Daughter Of Angola's President, Is Africa's First Woman Billionaire

Nigeria clashes sporadically with Cameroon over a disputed oil-rich maritime border, a 1, 000-square-kilometer area off the Bakassi peninsula that may contain as much as 10 billion barrels of oil as well being rich in fish.

FORBES: Magazine Article