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oil crisis

economics
Written bySteven Kettell
Steven Kettell
Associate Professor in Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick. His contributions to SAGE Publications's Encyclopedia of Governance (2007) formed the basis of his contributions to Britannica.
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Table of Contents
oil crisis
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Cars lining up at a gas station during the 1973–74 oil crisis, Portland, Oregon.
David Falconer—EPA/National Archives, Washington, D.C.

oil crisis, a sudden rise in the price of oil that is often accompanied by decreased supply. Since oil provides the main source of energy for advanced industrial economies, an oil crisis can endanger economic and political stability throughout the global economy.

In the post-World War II period there have been two major oil crises. The first occurred in 1973, when Arab members of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) decided to quadruple the price of oil to almost $12 a barrel (see Arab oil embargo). Oil exports to the United States, Japan, and western Europe, which together consumed more than half the world’s energy, were also prohibited. OPEC’s decision was made in retaliation for Western support of Israel against Egypt and Syria during the Yom Kippur War (1973) and in response to a persistent decline in the value of the U.S. dollar (the denominated currency for oil sales), which had eroded the export earnings of OPEC states. With the global capitalist economy already experiencing difficulties, these actions precipitated a steep recession accompanied by rising inflation. This forced capitalist countries to embark on a process of economic restructuring in order to reduce their dependency on oil and prompted fears that the United States might take military action in order to secure free access to its energy supplies. Although the oil embargo was lifted in 1974, oil prices remained high, and the capitalist world economy continued to stagnate throughout the 1970s.

Another major oil crisis occurred in 1979, a result of the Iranian Revolution (1978–79). High levels of social unrest severely damaged the Iranian oil industry, leading to a large loss of output and a corresponding rise in prices. The situation worsened following the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War (1980–88), which further added to the level of instability throughout the region. In 1981 the price of oil was stabilized at $32 per barrel. By 1983, however, major capitalist economies had adopted more-efficient methods of production, and the problems of the 1970s had been transformed into a relative oversupply of oil rather than a shortage.

Steven Kettell