Slide 5 of 30
- The real price (inflation-adjusted) of crude oil paid by refiners (refiners acquisition costs) rose from $10.72 in 1972 to $16.98 in 1997, an increase of 58 percent.
- Prices peaked in 1981 during the Iranian revolution. The Iran-Iraq war increased fears of another disruption.
- Since 1981 there has been a steady decline in oil prices due in part to the following:
- supplies from non-OPEC sources increased and absorbed some of the demand for OPEC oil .
- revenue requirements by members of OPEC led to a consistent overproduction above their established quotas.
Source: Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 1997, DOE/EIA-0384(97). (Washington, DC, July 1998), Table 5.19.
