Today's Oil Market

Recently, I was asked the following question: what's the difference between the current condition of the international oil industry and that of the oil crisis in the 70's and later in 1980 following the revolution in Iran. That difference is easy to see if you look at just two figures. The absolute decline in world consumption of oil began in 1980 so that the total world consumption fell to approximately 45 million barrels of oil a day (mbd). Today the world consumes on the order of 84 mbd. That's close to a doubling in just two decades. Unbelievable. Who would have believed this kind of growth.