The discovery of petroleum in 1930 transformed the Middle East from a struggling, pearl-based economy into one of the most powerful energy hubs in the world. But history is shifting again. As electric vehicles and green energy steadily reduce global oil demand, the region faces a new reality: its oil-driven prosperity may not be permanent. The attempt to build a post-petroleum economy ironically funded by oil wealth carries both ambition and risk. The real question is not whether oil will decline, but whether the Middle East can reinvent itself before that decline reshapes its future.