the oil crisis of the 1970s

The oil crisis of the 1970s was an oil-price shock: on August 23, 1973, Saudi king Faisal and Egyptian president Anwar Sadat secretly negotiated an accord to use the "oil weapon" during the military conflict; after Egypt and Syria attacked Israeli positions on October 6, OAPEC oil ministers agreed on October 17 to use oil to influence the West's support of Israel, and the price of oil quadrupled by 1974.

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The reading path

1. Read
   the oil crisis of the 1970s · Wikipedia · 60+ min read

   The oil crisis of the 1970s made the US economy vulnerable to a foreign oil embargo, a ban on oil exports to the United States. Japan responded to the oil crisis of the 1970s by adding suppliers outside of the Middle East, investing in nuclear power, imposing conservation measures, and funding Arab governments and the Palestinians. The crisis was a major factor in Japan's long-run shift away from oil-intensive industries. The Nixon Administration began multilateral negotiations with the combatants, and the promise of a negotiated settlement between Israel and Syria convinced Arab oil producers to lift the embargo in March 1974. The source also says the embargo was lifted again during the 1979 energy crisis, but does not establish that the promise caused that recurrence.

2. Read
   "OPEC Oil Embargo 1973–1974" · history.state.gov · 4 min read

   The United States faced the oil crisis of the 1970s with dwindling domestic reserves and greater reliance on imported oil, which diminished its international leverage under harsh domestic economic circumstances. The embargo's organizers linked its end to successful U.S. efforts to bring about peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

3. Read
   "How Henry Kissinger Bungled the Arab Oil Embargo" · newlinesmag.com · 12 min read

   Oil cuts reduced the total volume of oil available globally, leading the price of a barrel to reach $11.56 by December 1973. The cuts used oil as leverage and, alongside poor and unprepared American regulatory systems, disrupted the U.S. economy.

4. Book
   The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power · Bookshop.org

   Daniel Yergin's The Prize is a history of the global oil industry, from its 1859 origins in Pennsylvania to the rise and breakup of Standard Oil. It treats the 1973 and 1979 shocks as pivotal events, when Middle Eastern producers used oil as a political weapon.

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