"Oil is the Devil's Excrement" Juan Pablo Perez Alfonso, Minister and co-founder of OPEC, 1973 "You kinda have to go where the oil is" Lee Raymond, CEO ExxonMobile, 2003 It seems that everybody is now clear about the fact that we should not depend anymore on Russia to quench our insatiable appetite for fossil fuels. That was exactly what we were told with @serge.michel2 and Serge Enderlin 20 years ago when we embarked in a vast project called “A CRUDE WORLD”. Only difference back then it was the Saudi’s we could not trust. Covering twelve countries in four continents “A CRUDE WORLD” was a behind the scenes investigation into the oil industry. What about weaning off our dependency from hydrocarbons and the petrostates that control them and transit the fastest as possible to renewable fuels? There might also be a few other advantages on the climate front... “A CRUDE WORLD” is a book published by @editionsduseuil , a magazine piece published numerous times across the world and a traveling exhibition. More info on my website. Image 1 In Baku, Azerbaijan, The 'Naftalan' clinic offers crude oil baths as a cure for a series of ailments. Oil has always played a main role in the history of the city. Baku,2003. Image 2 Imagine a place where all the women are models, and all the men millionaires. Where the menu offers food from the othe side of the world and nothing local, except for a vodka at 600 dollars a bottle. This place does exist. It's called Snob$ and it declares itself, 'the meeting place of intellectuals and oligarchs'. Moscow, 2003 Image 3 Big John, surrounded by his brothers, is the self-proclaimed boss of the Catambor shanty town. Angola is a country so rich in oil and the oil is easily reached but the resulting wealth is out of reach of the Angolan people. Luanda, 2003 Image 4 On the plain of Kirkuk, flames burning gas from the oilfield of Baba Gourgour, shoot up like weeds. This is one of the most prolific oilfields in the world. Kirkuk, 2003 Image 5 By the time Saddam's regime was overthrown, all the ministries had been bombed and looted except for one, the Ministry of Oil, protected by American troops from the day they entered Baghdad. Bagdad, 2003