[logfromblammo]

The Saudis only become rich when they extract the oil and sell it on the world market. Otherwise they just have some warm fuzzy feelings, knowing that there are some long carbon chains somewhere underneath their feet. The value of their property right is in the implicit agreement that anyone else that tries to erect an oil rig and take their easily exploited oil will be shot, and any capital brought seized for the benefit of the Saudis.

It is all humans. The energy and engineering requirements of exploiting land pale before the sociopolitical requirements of exploiting it for any particular person's benefit.

A human is not a sellable slave until a slaver captures him and drags him to the block. The stolen goods are just goods that have been detached from the previous labor of legitimized title-service and security providers.

Inanimate objects have no intrinsic value. Every last speck of their value comes from human desires and expectations.

Imagine, if you will, two planetoids orbiting a star 1000 light-years away. One of them is 100 million metric tons of shiny 24K gold. One of them is 100 million metric tons of stinking manure. Which is more valuable?