Earthquake in Iran 2017. Death and oil

We disputed the 2nd day of the OjeteQuake W. G., but no one came close either in distance or, of course, in magnitude.
Only a few expected an earthquake of such intensity in that particular area, especially because the Ring of Fire was very hot in recent times. But it was not ruled out.
The only good news about the earthquake is that it seems that neither ISIS, Al Asad, MOSSAD nor even Trump were involved.

What happened?

The seismicity that operates in the Middle East zone has its origin in the movement of four main Tectonic Plates and
small block, Anatolia.

tectonic plates involved in earthquake in iran november 2017
Plates involved in the 7.3 earthquake

One of the most common processes in these plates is subduction (one plate slides under another) and the transformation faults produce a fold zone that causes mountainous systems to form, as in this case, that of the Zagros Mountains.

Map with the direction of thrust of the plates involved
Map with the direction of thrust of the plates involved

The Arabian Plate moves northward from the Eurasian Plate through the subduction process, which means that Arabia is being introduced below Eurasia. It does so at a speed of 26 millimetres per year. This convergent movement is responsible for the increase in altitude of the Zagros mountain range, the largest in Iran and Iraq.

According to the first data, the 7.3 earthquake in Iran and Iraq was caused by an oblique thrust failure, that is, both horizontal and vertical traction.

large earthquake in iran last years-min
Major earthquakes since the 1950s

Policy of carrot and stick

The Middle East area is relatively active. It often suffers earthquakes of medium and low magnitude (between 2.5 and 4.5), which do not usually cause damage to people or property. In the last century there have been many earthquakes of magnitude greater than 6, also without serious consequences.

This was not the case in 1990, when a 7.4 earthquake with an epicentre 400 km northwest of the current one caused between 40,000 and 50,000 deaths, 60,000 injuries and left more than 600,000 people homeless.

But on the contrary, these movements throughout history made the area one of the richest in fossil fuels. And unlike other areas treated with the precious elements, the extraction of these resources is much simpler and cheaper, since it is in a more superficial layer of the earth’s crust.

Millions of years ago, when the Arabian Peninsula was still part of the African Plate, the drift of continents led to several seas being enclosed. Water evaporation caused many living elements to be deposited in the bottom.

With time and the right temperature they became oil. The saline environment, caused by the evaporation of the seas, along with limestone are the best ingredients to create the largest deposit of crude oil and gas of the entire planet. That’s why the Middle East has the largest reserves of fossil fuels in the world.

oil reserves in the world for earthquake in iran
World crude oil reserves
natural gas reserves in the world for earthquake in iran
Global natural gas reserves

Sources:

Wikipedia, UCube by Rystad EnergyCNNUSGS, Google MyMaps.

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