Oil

The history of oil is primarily a history of US oil. Oil was first discovered in Pennsylvania and soon most of the oil used around the world was coming from the US. After WW 2 the demand for oil exceeded supply and the US began to look for foreign supplies. When oil was discovered in the Middle East it was American engineers that built up the oil fields. Prior to that these countries were poor tribesman wandering across vast desert areas. In 1960 five major oil producing countries banded together and formed OPEC and ten years later they nationalized most of the oil business. In 1972 these countries got together and curtailed oil exports to the US in response to the 1967 Israeli War. This was a wake up call to the West. The US began a rapid expansion of the oil industry and through the 1980's oil prices declined as production increased. Falling prices caused the Soviet Union to suffer economically to the point where it was a significant part of the collapse of the country. This was followed by the era of globalization which caused economic growth across the globe and demand for oil rose causing prices to rise from $35 per barrel to over $100. Soon US oil production was outpaced by Saudi Arabia and Russia until 2008 when shale oil came on the scene and in a few short years the US once again became the world's leading oil producer where it remains today.