Introduction
Concern about oil supplies pushes gas prices over $4 a gallon at a San Francisco Shell station on March 30, 2007. In December, crude oil prices nearly hit $100 a barrel. (Getty Images/Justin Sullivan)
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Vastly increased demand for oil in rapidly modernizing China and India, warfare and instability in the Middle East and the weakening U.S. dollar have revived fears of a new energy crisis. Gasoline shortages — and the accompanying lines at gas stations — were thought to have ended with the Jimmy Carter administration. But as 2008 began, American drivers were paying more than $3 a gallon, and crude oil hit a milestone — $100 a barrel. Some oil experts warn of even bigger price shocks to come as oil-producing nations use more and more of their own oil, and energy demand jumps 50 percent by 2030. Some experts predict an oil "production crunch" within four to five years that will have severe geopolitical and economic impacts, and one expert says the energy supply-demand gap could create "social chaos and war" by 2020. In any event, the days of cheap, plentiful oil appear to be over, and motorists may have to learn how to conserve energy.
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Jun. 22, 2012 |
U.S. Oil Dependence |
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Nov. 01, 2011 |
Future of the Gulf States |
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Jan. 04, 2008 |
Oil Jitters  |
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Jul. 2007 |
Energy Nationalism |
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Sep. 30, 2005 |
Domestic Energy Development |
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Jan. 24, 2003 |
Oil Diplomacy |
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Aug. 07, 1998 |
Oil Production in the 21st Century |
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Aug. 23, 1991 |
Oil Imports |
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Oct. 30, 1987 |
Persian Gulf Oil |
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Apr. 04, 1986 |
Oil Prices |
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Dec. 23, 1983 |
Quest for Energy Independence |
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Sep. 23, 1983 |
OPEC: 10 Years After the Arab Oil Boycott |
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May 29, 1981 |
Western Oil Boom |
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Aug. 25, 1978 |
Oil Imports |
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Feb. 10, 1978 |
Oil Antitrust Action |
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Dec. 17, 1976 |
Alaskan Development |
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May 17, 1974 |
Arab Oil Money |
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Mar. 15, 1974 |
Oil Taxation |
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Jul. 18, 1973 |
Offshore Oil Search |
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Mar. 28, 1973 |
Persian Gulf Oil |
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Nov. 01, 1972 |
Gasoline Prices |
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Oct. 14, 1970 |
Fuel Shortages |
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Nov. 12, 1969 |
Alaskan Oil Boom |
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Dec. 11, 1968 |
Oil Shale Development |
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Oct. 26, 1960 |
World Oil Glut |
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Sep. 10, 1958 |
Middle East Oil |
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Oct. 30, 1951 |
Oil Nationalization |
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Aug. 11, 1950 |
Oil Imports |
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Apr. 23, 1947 |
Oil of the Middle East |
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Jan. 22, 1946 |
Offshore Oil |
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Mar. 09, 1944 |
Oil Supply |
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Dec. 24, 1935 |
Oil in World Politics |
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May 07, 1931 |
Control of Production in the Oil Industry |
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Mar. 27, 1929 |
The Oil Leasing Policy of the New Administration |
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Jun. 08, 1927 |
Oil Conservation and Stabilization |
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Feb. 08, 1926 |
The Mexican Land and Petroleum Laws |
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Apr. 18, 1925 |
The Price of Gasoline |
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Feb. 11, 1924 |
Background of the Oil Lease Cases |
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Sep. 01, 1923 |
Gasoline |
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