Sunday, August 20, 2006

Oil History of Events





Overview


This chronology was originally published by the Department of
Energy's Office of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Analysis Division.
Updates for 1995-2005 are from the Energy Information Administration.
Please click
here
for the latest monthly chronology and for a more detailed chronology for past years.



World Nominal Oil Price Chronology: 1970-2005










The price data graphed above are in nominal terms, i.e., they are
in "dollars-of-the-day" and have not been adjusted for inflation.
Clicking the picture above will enable you to access oil prices in real
terms that are adjusted for
inflation. Historical and forecast real and nominal crude oil and
gasoline price information is maintained on a more frequent basis on
the
Short Term Energy Outlook Webpage
.




1.
OPEC begins to assert power; raises tax rate & posted prices


2.
OPEC begins nationalization process; raises prices in response to falling US dollar.


3.
Negotiations for gradual transfer of ownership of western assets in OPEC countries


4.
Oil embargo begins (October 19-20, 1973)


5.
OPEC freezes posted prices; US begins mandatory oil allocation


6.
Oil embargo ends (March 18, 1974)


7.
Saudis increase tax rates and royalties


8.
US crude oil entitlements program begins


9.
OPEC announces 15% revenue increase effective October 1, 1975


10.
Official Saudi Light price held constant for 1976


11.
Iranian oil production hits a 27-year low


12.
OPEC decides on 14.5% price increase for 1979


13.
Iranian revolution; Shah deposed


14.
OPEC raises prices 14.5% on April 1, 1979


15.
US phased price decontrol begins


16.
OPEC raises prices 15%


17.
Iran takes hostages; President Carter halts imports from Iran; Iran cancels US contracts; Non-OPEC output hits 17.0 million b/d


18.
Saudis raise marker crude price from 19$/bbl to 26$/bbl


19.
Windfall Profits Tax enacted


20.
Kuwait, Iran, and Libya production cuts drop OPEC oil production to 27 million b/d


21.
Saudi Light raised to $28/bbl


22.
Saudi Light raised to $34/bbl


23.
First major fighting in Iran-Iraq War


24.
President Reagan abolishes remaining price and allocation controls


25.
Spot prices dominate official OPEC prices


26.
US boycotts Libyan crude; OPEC plans 18 million b/d output


27.
Syria cuts off Iraqi pipeline


28.
Libya initiates discounts; Non-OPEC output reaches 20 million b/d; OPEC output drops to 15 million b/d


29.
OPEC cuts prices by $5/bbl and agrees to 17.5 million b/d output – January 1983


30.
Norway, United Kingdom, and Nigeria cut prices


31.
OPEC accord cuts Saudi Light price to $28/bbl


32.
OPEC output falls to 13.7 million b/d


33.
Saudis link to spot price and begin to raise output – June 1985


34.
OPEC output reaches 18 million b/d


35.
Wide use of netback pricing


36.
Wide use of fixed prices


37.
Wide use of formula pricing


38.
OPEC/Non-OPEC meeting failure


39.
OPEC production accord; Fulmar/Brent production outages in the North Sea


40.
Exxon's Valdez tanker spills 11 million gallons of crude oil


41.
OPEC raises production ceiling to 19.5 million b/d – June 1989


42.
Iraq invades Kuwait


43.
Operation Desert Storm begins; 17.3 million barrels of SPR crude oil sales is awarded


44.
Persian Gulf war ends


45.
Dissolution of Soviet Union; Last Kuwaiti oil fire is extinguished on November 6, 1991


46.
UN sanctions threatened against Libya


47.
Saudi Arabia agrees to support OPEC price increase


48.
OPEC production reaches 25.3 million b/d, the highest in over a decade


49.
Kuwait boosts production by 560,000 b/d in defiance of OPEC quota


50.
Nigerian oil workers' strike


51.
Extremely cold weather in the US and Europe


52.
U.S. launches cruise missile attacks
into southern Iraq following an Iraqi-supported invasion of Kurdish
safe haven areas in northern Iraq.



53.
Iraq begins exporting oil under United Nations Security Council Resolution 986.


54.
Prices rise as Iraq's refusal to allow
United Nations weapons inspectors into "sensitive" sites raises
tensions in the oil-rich Middle East.



55.
OPEC
raises its production ceiling by 2.5 million barrels per day to 27.5
million barrels per day. This is the first increase in 4 years.



56.
World oil supply increases by 2.25 million barrels per day in 1997, the largest annual increase since 1988.


57.
Oil prices continue to plummet as
increased production from Iraq coincides with no growth in Asian oil
demand due to the Asian economic crisis and increases in world oil
inventories following two unusually warm winters.



58.
OPEC
pledges additional production cuts for the third time since March 1998.
Total pledged cuts amount to about 4.3 million barrels per day.



59.
Oil prices triple between January 1999 and September 2000 due to strong world oil demand, OPEC oil production cutbacks, and other factors, including weather and low oil stock levels.


60.
President Clinton authorizes the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over 30 days to bolster oil supplies, particularly heating oil in the Northeast.


61.
Oil prices fall due to weak world demand (largely as a result of economic recession in the United States) and OPEC overproduction.


62.
Oil prices decline sharply following
the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, largely
on increased fears of a sharper worldwide economic downturn (and
therefore sharply lower oil demand).  Prices then increase on oil
production cuts by OPEC and non-OPEC at the beginning of 2002, plus unrest in the Middle East and the possibility of renewed conflict with Iraq.



63.
OPEC
oil production cuts, unrest in Venezuela, and rising tension in the
Middle East contribute to a significant increase in oil prices between
January and June.



64.
A general strike in Venezuela, concern
over a possible military conflict in Iraq, and cold winter weather all
contribute to a sharp decline in U.S. oil inventories and cause oil
prices to escalate further at the end of the year.



65.
Continued unrest in Venezuela and oil
traders' anticipation of imminent military action in Iraq causes prices
to rise in January and February, 2003.



66.
Military action commences in Iraq on March 19, 2003. Iraqi oil fields are not destroyed as had been feared. Prices fall.


67.
OPEC
delegates agree to lower the cartel’s output ceiling by 1 million
barrels per day, to 23.5 million barrels per day, effective April 2004.



68.
OPEC agrees to raise its crude oil production target by 500,000 barrels (2% of current OPEC production) by August 1—in an effort to moderate high crude oil prices.


69.
Hurricane Ivan causes lasting damage
to the energy infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico and interrupts oil
and natural gas supplies to the United States. U.S. Secretary of Energy
Spencer Abraham agrees to release 1.7 million barrels of oil in the
form of a loan from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.



70.
Continuing oil supply disruptions in
Iraq and Nigeria, as well as strong energy demand, raise prices during
the first and second quarters of 2005.



71.
Tropical Storm Cindy and Hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, and Rita disrupt oil supply in the Gulf of Mexico.


72.
President Bush authorizes SPR release.


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