Lesson 10 Introduction

Concepts to Consider for the Lesson

Lesson 10 covered the golden age of OPEC, and also saw significant conflict and upheaval in the Middle East, especially with Iran and Iraq. As noted in the previous lesson, there continued to be shifting from concessions to nationalization in the producing countries. These conditions led to adjustments in the consuming nations to the new realities of oil supplies and markets. 

All of this helps usher in a second oil shock with the usual panic, price increases, leapfrogging and scrambling. Gas lines and the Iran hostage crisis helped bring down a presidential administration. During the oil price increases, all other outputs that required oil also increased in price. This, as expected, led to inflation, high interest rates, and a world-wide recession that led to declining oil demand. But the greed of OPEC in increasing prices (despite the war), the declining demand for oil because of inflation, the surge in non-OPEC production, and the great inventory dump all led eventually to further declining prices. 

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• Recall course concepts relating to OPEC
• Demonstrate an understanding of the role of oil in relation to pivotal events in history
• Discuss the role of oil in business applications, global markets, conflicts, energy security, and various unconventional applications

What is due for Lesson 10?

This lesson will take us one week to complete. Please refer to the Course Syllabus for specific time frames and due dates. Specific directions for the assignment below can be found within this lesson.

Questions?

Each week an announcement is sent out in which you will have the opportunity to contribute questions about the topics you are learning about in this course. You are encouraged to engage in these discussions. The more we talk about these ideas and share our thoughts, the more we can learn from each other.