McGrath's point that...

"there are no "oil-producing nations" - leaving aside the cooking oil. There are oil-extracting nations"

...is brilliant. With a commodity that has been under production by nature for sixty million years really be owned by an ephemeral government like that of Saddam's, which was in power for about 23 years? Trees and cattle and goats, they are property with definite ownership rights. Oil? Hmmm.