Text 10046, 1155 rader
Skriven 2005-03-19 18:17:31 av John Hull (1:379/1.99)
Ärende: Crude Oil History
=========================
A certain individual once again opened his big mouth and tried to imply that
what I posted was untrue.  And once again, he posted some stuff that was
intended to make the US look bad.

Well, I did my own web search.  I found several hundred references, none of
which even mentioned Poland, but did mention the US as the birth place of the
oil industry in the majority of them.

Here's just two of the dozens of references I found:

From www.oilhistory.com:


The Beginning Of The Petroleum Industry

As John Wesley Owen wrote in 1975 in his massive volume "Trek of the Oil
Finders"...."the inception of the modern petroleum industry can be fairly said
to have occurred at Oil Creek, near Titusville, Pennsylvania..." Owen also
states that "some 5000 years of experience and tradition elsewhere had
anticipated the event." Oil seeps were used in ancient times and production of
oil took place in a number of countries long before Drake. Several oil wells
were brought in at about the time of Drake's well in the United States, such as
in Canada and Europe. Some of them became oil centers in their own right.
However, the boom and industrial advance that began near Titusville on August
27, 1859, (Drake Day) gathered momentum so quickly and enlarged so greatly that
a veritable industrial explosion took place. As Owen put it, "the oilmen were
here. They were in oil country, and the time had come." Parke Dickey in his
1959 great paper "The First Oil Well" doesn't dispute other claims to be the
first well (that isn't the point). He felt that "no one is likely to question
the fact that it was the Drake Well at Titusville which started the industry on
its spectacular career." The other centers boomed as well. 

And the following from http://timelines.ws/subjects/oil.html

1815        Jul 9, The 1st US natural gas well was discovered.
    (MC, 7/9/02)

1855        Organic chemist Benjamin Stillman laid the foundations for the
Pennsylvania oil rush by his discovery that petroleum could be distilled into
lubricants and kerosene for cooking and illumination. Suddenly there was a use
for the crude oil that seeped to the surface, annoying farmers by ruining the
land and polluting the water supply.
    (HNPD, 10/4/98)

1859        Aug 27-28, The US oil business was born in Titusville, Pa. Former
army officer Colonel Edwin L. Drake drilled the first oil well in Titusville,
Pa., striking oil at 70 feet and setting off a wild scramble for wealth similar
to the California gold rush of 1849. The land belonged to the Pennsylvania Rock
Oil Company. Until that time, the company had simply collected oil that seeped
out of the ground. Drake's plan was to produce it in large quantities for use
in heating and illumination. Overnight oil fields sprang up in Pennsylvania but
competition, disorganization and oversupply kept oil prices low. It was not
until John D. Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Company came onto the scene in
1870 that the petroleum industry developed into a vastly profitable, although
much hated, monopoly.
    (HFA, '96, p.36)(AP, 8/27/97)(HNPD, 10/4/98)(WSJ, 10/4/96, p.A9)(HNQ,
2//99)

1879        Sep 10, Pacific Coast Oil Co. was founded in San Francisco by Lloyd
Tevis, George Loomis and Charles Felton. It eventually became ChevronTexaco.
    (SFC, 10/20/04, p.C6)

1880        The Pacific Coast Oil Co. built its 1st refinery at Alameda Port.
    (SFC, 10/20/04, p.C6)

1882        Jan 2, Because of anti-monopoly laws, Standard Oil was organized as
a trust.
    (MC, 1/2/02)

1885        Sep 5, The 1st gasoline pump was delivered to a gasoline dealer in
Ft. Wayne, Ind.
    (MC, 9/5/01)

1890        The Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. was founded.
    (WSJ, 11/2/04, p.A14)

1900        Standard Oil Co. acquired Pacific Oil Co.
    (SFC, 10/20/04, p.C6)

1902        The Pacific Coast Oil refinery at Alameda Port, owned by Standard
Oil, was replaced by the Richmond refinery.
    (SFC, 10/20/04, p.C6)

1902        The Texas Fuel Co. was founded. It soon changed its name to the
Texas Co. and eventually became Texaco.
    (SFC, 10/20/04, p.C6)

1907        Royal Dutch combines its oil operations with Shell Transport &
Trading Co.
    (WSJ, 11/2/04, p.A14)

1908        Oil was discovered in Persia.
    (WSJ, 9/13/99, p.R4)

1911        May 15, The Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Standard Oil
Company, ruling it was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The
anti-trust suit led to the dissolution of Standard Oil Co. of John D.
Rockefeller. From its remains 34 new companies were formed that included Exxon,
Mobil, Amoco, Chevron, Arco and Conoco. Rockefeller’s quarter interest in the
parent turned into a quarter interest in all the offspring.
    (AP, 5/15/97)(WSJ, 5/8/98, p.W10)

1914        Venezuela’s 1st oil gusher was drilled near Lake Maracibo.
    (WSJ, 4/18/02, p.A9)

1914        The discovery of oil in Venezuela prompted Royal Dutch/Shell to
build an oil refinery on Curacao.
    (Econ, 6/19/04, p.72)

1923        The US established a 22-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve
near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
    (Econ, 12/11/04, p.28)(SFC, 1/22/05, p.A5)

1927        Oil was discovered near Kirkuk, Iraq, the 1st commercial find in
any Arab country.
    (SSFC, 4/13/03, p.E1)

1928        Mar 27, The U.S. accepted the new oil-land laws enacted by Mexico,
ending a long-standing dispute between Mexico and the United States.
    (HN, 3/27/98)

1928        Oct 25, An American group, led by James A. Talbot of Richfield Oil,
acquired control of the American airplane business of Anthony H.G. Fokker.
    (SFC, 10/24/03, p.E10)

1932        Jun 6, A US Federal gas tax was enacted.
    (MC, 6/6/02)

1932        Jul 9, John Paul Getty II, US-British oil magnate, billionaire
(Getty Oil), was born.
    (MC, 7/9/02)

1932        May 31, Socal, formerly Standard Oil of California, discovered oil
in Bahrain. This was the 1st middle eastern oil discovered by an American firm.
    (SFC, 10/20/04, p.C6)(www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/199901/prelude.to.dis
covery.htm)

1933        May, Saudi Arabia gave Standard Oil of California exclusive rights
to explore for oil. Socal formed the California Arabian Standard Oil Co. to
drill for oil in Saudi Arabia.
    (www.chevron.com)(SFC, 10/20/04, p.C6)

1933        Petromex was formed during the presidency of Abelardo L. Rodriguez.
    (www.trinity.edu/jgonzal1/341f96g1.html)

1935        Jan 14, The oil pipeline from Iraq to the Mediterranean went into
use.
    (MC, 1/14/02)

1936        Jan, Standard Oil of California found some gas and oil at their 1st
Saudi Arabia test well, Damman No. 1.
    (www.chevron.com)

1936        Mar 3, Standard Oil of California struck oil at Damman No 7. Aramco
made the first commercial oil find in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The English
Arabist, H. St. John Philby, orchestrated the Aramco concession in Saudi
Arabia.
    (HN, 3/15/98)(WSJ, 3/8/99, p.A16)(SFEC, 6/27/99, p.T3)(www.chevron.com)

1936        The Texas Co. joined Standard Oil in Saudi Arabia. The joint
venture eventually became the Saudi oil giant Aramco.
    (SFC, 10/20/04, p.C6)

1937        Jan 30, Mexico's Pres. Lazaro Cardenas created the AGPN,
"Administracion General del Petroleo Nacional." The AGPN became a public
organism that would guide the Mexican oil industry. The creation of the AGPN
constituted the transformation of Petromex into a publicly driven firm.
    (www.trinity.edu/jgonzal1/341f96g1.html)

1938        Mar 18, Pres. Lazaro Cardenas of Mexico nationalized US and British
oil companies.
    (WSJ, 3/20/96, p.A-1)(WSJ, 6/14/96, p.A15)

1938        Mar 27, The U.S. stopped buying Mexican silver in reprisal for the
Mexican seizure of American oil companies.
    (HN, 3/27/98)

1938        Nov 24, Mexico seized oil land adjacent to Texas.
    (HN, 11/24/98)

1938        Hammond Chaffetz (d.2001 at 93) won a big price-fixing case against
the oil industry. 30 oil executives were convicted along with 16 major oil
companies for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.
    (SFC, 1/18/01, p.C2)

1938        Oil was found in Kuwait.
    (SSFC, 4/13/03, p.E1)

1938        Inventor Earl Silas Tupper left the Du Pont company in 1938 to form
the Tupper Plastics Company. The material called "Poly-T" used to create
Tupperware was developed from a black, putrid, rock-hard oil refining waste
product called polyethylene slag. He refined and purified the slag into a
higher quality plastic. He then turned his attention to replacing the widely
used glass and metal food containers with his waterproof and airtight seal
introduced in 1947.
    (HNQ, 2/13/99)

1940        Jul, Avila Camacho was elected president of Mexico. He agreed to
compensate the multi-nationals for their oil losses and a new market for
Mexican oil opened, i.e. the US.
    (www.mexconnect.com)

1942        Jul 22, Gasoline rationing involving the use of coupons began along
the Atlantic seaboard.
    (AP, 7/22/99)

1943        Two American oil firms decided to expand their refinery in Bahrain
and hired Bechtel. Capacity was doubled to 65,000 barrels per day.
    (SSFC, 5/4/03, p.A8)

1945        Aug 15, Gasoline and fuel oil rationing ended in the United States.
    (HN, 8/15/98)

1951        Mar 15, Persia nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.
    (MC, 3/15/02)

1951        Jun 24, Persian army took over nationalized oil installations.
    (MC, 6/24/02)

1951        Sep 27, Persian troops occupied oil refinery at Abadan.
    (MC, 9/27/01)

1951        There was a struggle to nationalize Iranian oil.
    (SFEC, 4/13/97, BR p.4)

1952        Apr 23, Oil pipeline from Kirkuk, Iraq, to Banias was completed.
    (MC, 4/23/02)

1953        Mar, The US CIA’s Tehran station reported that an Iranian general
had approached the US embassy for support in an army-led coup. Based on this
information Allen Dulles, director of the CIA, approved $1 million to be used
to help bring about the fall of Prime Minister Mossadegh. Pres. Eisenhower gave
the CIA the ok to overthrow the elected government of PM Mohammad Mossadegh.
Mossadegh had nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. after Britain refused to
compromise and split profits 50-50. In 2003 Stephen Kinzer authored "All the
Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of the Middle East Terror."
    (SFEC, 4/16/00, p.A18)(SSFC, 8/24/03, p.M6)

1953        Jul 14, The freighter Jacob Luckenbach from SF rammed the Matson
freighter Hawaiian Pilot near Point Montara, 17 miles from the Golden Gate. The
Luckenbach sank while the Hawaiian Pilot limped to SF. Oil leaked from the
Luckenbach later killed numerous birds. In 2002 a $3.5 million plan for cleanup
was begun. A $19 million cleanup ended in Sep.
    (Ind, 3/31/01, 5A)(SFC, 2/5/02, p.A15)(SFC, 5/8/02, p.A22)(SFC, 10/1/02,
p.A13)

1953        Italy founded ENIPower, a state attempt to challenge the oil
majors.
    (Econ, 8/21/04, p.53)

1956        Mar 8, On the 2nd day of a 3-day regional conference of the
Southern District Division of Production, American Petroleum Institute, in San
Antonio, Texas, M. King Hubbert, a Shell geologist, predicted that US oil
production for the 48 states would peak (i.e., reach a maximum annual
extraction rate) in 1965 if the nation ultimately produced 150 billion barrels,
and in 1970 if the nation ultimately produced 200 billion barrels. 1970 turned
out to be the peak year, both for the 48 states and for the 50 states including
Alaska.
    (SSFC, 3/21/04, p.J3)

1959        China discovered huge oil reserves in the northern basin of the
Songhua and Liao Rivers. This ended dependence on Soviet supplies. The area was
named Daqing (Great Happiness).
    (WSJ, 3/1/00, p.A8)(Econ, 5/1/04, p.41)

1960        Sep 14, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela formed OPEC.
Fuad Rouhani (1907-2004) of Iran served as its 1st secretary-general. In 1964
he was succeeded by Abdul Rahman Bazzaz of Iraq.
    (HN, 9/14/98)(WSJ, 7/28/03, p.A8)

1962        Abu Dhabi began exporting the oil it just discovered off its
shores.
    (AP, 11/3/04)

1962        A gas fire in Algeria called “The Devil’s Cigarette Lighterö had
burned for 6 months until it was put out by Texas firefighter Red Adair
(1915-2004).
    (Econ, 8/14/04, p.78)

1964-1992    Texaco dumped some 18 billion gallons of toxic waste into open
pits, estuaries and rivers and allegedly polluted some 2.5 million acres of
pristine rain forest. Texaco merged with Chevron in 2001 and a suit over the
toxic waste went to trial in Ecuador in 2003.
    (SFC, 5/1/03, A8)(SFC, 10/21/03, p.A3)

1965        Nov 9, A major power failure hit the East Coast of the US. New York
City experienced a major blackout just after 5:30 PM. In the great Northeast
blackout several US states and parts of Canada were hit by a series of power
failures lasting up to 13 1/2 hours. Nine Northeastern states and parts of
Canada went dark in the worst power failure in history, when a switch at a
station near Niagara Falls failed.
    (HFA, '96,p.42)(SFE,10/1/95, Z1, p.10)(AP, 11/9/97)(HN, 11/9/98)

1966        Oil discovered in Dubai (UAR) provided cash for modernization
projects such as the world’s largest man-made harbor at Jebel Ali.
    (Econ, 5/29/04, p.61)

1967        Dec 26, Atlantic Richfield oil workers struck oil on Alaska’s North
Slope at Prudhoe Bay.
    (AH, 10/04, p.42)

1968        Mar 13, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) and Humble Oil and
Refining Company (now Exxon Company, U.S.A.) announced the discovery of oil on
Alaska’s North Slope (Prudhoe Bay). The oil companies soon began efforts to
construct a pipeline, but work was suspended due to environmental concerns.
    (AH, 2/05, p.14)(www.alyeska-pipe.com/Pipelinefacts/Chronology.html)

1969        Aug 24, Peru nationalized US oil interests.
    (MC, 8/24/02)

1969        George B. Kaiser took over Kaiser-Francis Oil Co., a small family
oil firm founded in the 1940s by his uncle and parents, Jewish refugees from
Nazi Germany, who had settled in Oklahoma. Operations at the time were limited
to Kansas. By 2004 the firm had over $600 million in revenues from oil and gas
production.
    (WSJ, 7/23/04, p.A1)

1972        Jun, Iraq nationalized the Iraq Petroleum Company controlled by
British, American, Dutch and French oil companies.
    (SFC, 9/24/02, p.A10)

1973        Mar 6, President Richard Nixon imposed price controls on oil and
gas.
    (WSJ, 11/4/96, p.C1)(HN, 3/6/98)

1973        Oct 17, Arab oil-producing nations announced they would begin
cutting back on oil exports to Western nations and Japan; the result was a
total embargo that lasted until March 1974 and caused oil prices to quadruple.
    (WSJ, 11/4/96, p.C1)(AP, 10/17/97)(WSJ, 7/28/03, p.A8)

1973        Oct 20, Arab oil-producing nations banned oil exports to the United
States, following the outbreak of Arab-Israeli war.
    (HN, 10/20/98)

1973        Nov 16, President Nixon signed the Trans Alaska Pipeline
Authorization Act into law. Oil companies formed a consortium that gave British
Petroleum 50.1% control of the pipeline.
    (www.alyeska-pipe.com/Pipelinefacts/Chronology.html)(AH, 10/04, p.43)

1973        Dec 23, 6 Persian Gulf nations doubled their oil prices.
    (MC, 12/23/01)

1973        During the OPEC oil embargo oil prices were increased fourfold.
Japan experienced its first oil crises with the Middle East war. The US
experienced a gasoline shortage.
    (WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 216)(WSJ, 6/19/96, Adv.
Supl)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R49)

1973        Oil was discovered off the coast of Louisiana at the underwater
site called Eugene Island 330. By 1989 production slowed to 4,000 barrels from
a peak of 15,000 and then suddenly increased and in 1999 produced 13,000
barrels a day. Geologists were unable to account for the source of the oil.
    (WSJ, 4/16/99, p.A1)

1974        Mar 13, Arab nations decided to end the oil embargo on the U.S.
    (HN, 3/13/98)

1974        Mar 18, Most of the Arab oil-producing nations ended their embargo
against the United States.
    (AP, 3/18/97)

1974        Dec 24, An oil spill polluted 1,600 square miles of scenic Inland
Sea in Japan.
    (HN, 12/24/98)

1974        Mobil Oil gained control of Montgomery Ward.
    (SFC, 12/29/00, p.A12)

1974        The US economy cooled, prices climbed with much wealth transferred
to the Arabs for oil.
    (TMC, 1994, p.1974)

1974        In France the economy slowed following the Arab oil embargo and the
policy of recruiting foreign labor ended.
    (NG, 5/93, p.110)

1974        In France the Int'l. Energy Agency was formed in Paris to
coordinate oil sharing. The US led the formation of the IEA in order to
stockpile oil and help offset supply shortages.
    (WSJ, 9/13/99, p.R4)(WSJ, 7/28/03, p.A8)

1975        Mar 27, The 1st pipe of the Alaska oil pipeline was laid at Tonsina
River.
    (www.alyeska-pipe.com/Pipelinefacts/Chronology.html)

1975        Jul 11, The 1st oil was pumped from North Sea oilfield.
    (MC, 7/11/02)

1975        Nov 5, The scrapped passenger ship Queen Elizabeth rolled over and
disgorged several tons of oil in Hong Kong.
    (www.cunard.co.uk)

1975        Anthony Sampson authored "The Seven Sisters: The Great Oil
Companies and the World They Made."
    (SSFC, 2/8/04, p.A31)

1976        Jun 5, Jean Paul Getty (83), US oil magnate, billionaire, died. e
left $1.2 billion as an endowment for a museum and art activities around the
world.
    (SFC, 7/15/96, p.D2)(MC, 6/5/02)

1977        May 31, The trans-Alaska oil pipeline was completed after three
years of work.
    (AP, 5/31/97)

1977        Jul 13, A 25-hour power blackout hit the New York City area and
looters rampaged in the city after lightning struck upstate power lines. Some 9
million people were affected.
    (TMC, 1994, p.1977)(AP, 7/13/97)(SFC, 8/15/03, p.A7)

1977        Jun 20, The 1st oil of the Alaska pipeline began to flow south 799
miles from Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez. [see Jul 28]
    (www.alyeska-pipe.com/pipelinefacts.html)

1977        Jun 28, The 1st Prudhoe Bay oil of the Alaska pipeline reached the
port of Valdez as construction of the Trans-Alaskan pipeline was completed.
    (www.alyeska-pipe.com/pipelinefacts.html)

1978        Oil was discovered in Sudan and Chevron Corp. sank wells north of
Bentiu.
    (SFC, 6/13/01, p.D3)(WSJ, 10/22/03, p.A4)

1978-1979    The Iranian revolution took place and oil prices doubled.
    (WSJ, 7/28/03, p.A8)

1979        May 11, SF passed an odd-even gas sales plan in response to the
gasoline crises.
    (SFC, 5/7/04, p.F2)

1979        Jun 28, OPEC raised oil prices 24%.
    (MC, 6/28/02)

1979        Jul 19, 2 supertankers collided off Tobago and spilled 260,000 tons
of oil. It was the worst oil spill to date with 88 million gallons spewed.
    (WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R49)(MC, 7/19/02)

1980        Jan 7, Some 60,000 US oil refinery workers went on nationwide
strike for the 1st time in 11 years. No major disruptions were reported in the
walkout.
    (SFC, 1/7/05, p.F6)

1980         Sep 22, Iraq invaded Iran following border skirmishes and a
dispute over the Shatt al-Arab waterway. This marked the beginning of a war
that would last eight years. Iraq invaded Iran striking refineries and an
oil-loading terminal on Kharg Island. The Iraqis used the political instability
in Iran to try to capture long-disputed territory. They attacked across the
Shatt al Arab River, a trunk of the great Tigris-Euphrates river system.
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_806000/806268.st
m
    (AP, 9/22/97)(NG, 5/88, p.653,663)

1980        Dec, In Baiji, Iraq, Sadam Hussein began construction of an oil
refinery under the Jabal Makhul mountains.
    (SFC, 5/5/03, p.A12)

1981        Mexican crude oil peaked at $38.50 a barrel.
    (Econ, 3/6/04, p.77)

1982        May 2, A project to produce oil from shale rock in Colorado's Roan
Plateau collapsed due to technical hurdles and falling oil prices.
    (USAT, 3/5/04, p.6A)

1982        Mexico’s oil market collapsed.
    (WSJ, 8/22/97, p.A10)

1983        Fred J. Cook (1911-2003) authored "The Great Energy Scam," an
examination of the oil companies.
    (SFC, 5/5/03, p.B4)

1983        Trading began in NYC on future delivery of light crude oil.
    (SFC, 8/10/04, p.A1)

1984        Jul 30, The tanker Alvenus at Cameron, La., spilled 2.8 million
gallons of oil.
    (MC, 7/30/02)

1984        Aug 18, Triangle Oil Corp, above-ground storage tank at
Jacksonville Fla, spilled 2.5 m gallons of oil and burned after lightning
sparked a fire.
    (MC, 8/18/02)

1984        Jan 6, Texaco offered $125 per share for Getty oil stock
superceding the Pennzoil offer of $112.50 per share. It became the biggest
merger on record.
    (SFC, 1/8/95, p.7)

1984        Mar 19, Mobil oil tanker spilled 200,000 gallons into the Columbia
River.
    (MC, 3/19/02)

1984        Jul 30, The tanker Alvenus at Cameron, La., spilled 2.8 million
gallons of oil.
    (MC, 7/30/02)

1984        Aug 18, Triangle Oil Corp, above-ground storage tank at
Jacksonville Fla, spilled 2.5 m gallons of oil and burned after lightning
sparked a fire.
    (MC, 8/18/02)

1984        Sep 17, Oil heir Gordon P. Getty, with a fortune of $4.1 billion
dollars, was named the richest person in the US. There were a dozen
billionaires in the US at the time.
    (MC, 9/17/01)

1984        Oct 31, The Puerto Rican tanker San Francisco exploded spilling 2
million gallons of oil as the ship caught fire.
    (MC, 10/31/01)

1984        Socal purchased Gulf Oil and its extensive operations in Nigeria
and changed its name to Chevron.
    (SFC, 11/19/98, p.A8)(SFC, 10/20/04, p.C6)

1984        William Flanagan, head of Arriba Ltd., signed a deal with Mexico’s
Petroleum Worker’s Union for at least 6 million barrels of slop oil. The union
failed to deliver and Flanagan won a suit in 1986. The judgement ballooned to
nearly $250 million in 2002 with still no settlement.
    (WSJ, 2/20/02, p.A1)

1985        Aug 15, Iraqis staged an air raid on Iran’s Kharg oil-island.
    (MC, 8/15/02)

1986        Jun, In Mexico Gustavo Petricioli Iturbe was named treasury
secretary by Pres. Miguel de la Madrid. The foreign debt was near $100 billion
due to the collapse of oil prices earlier in the decade.
    (SFEC, 10/11/98, p.D10)

1986        Dr. Len Srnka patented an electromagnetic method for locating oil
deposits on behalf of Exxon Oil Corp.
    (WSJ, 8/17/04, p.A6)

1987        Mar 13, The president of Ecuador announced his country had
suspended payments on its foreign debt after earthquakes killed hundreds of
people and ruptured the country's main oil pipeline. The quake destroyed nearly
25 miles of oil pipeline.
    (AP, 3/13/97)(SFC, 5/1/03, A8)

1987        Oct 19, U.S. Navy warships disabled the 1st of 3 Iranian oil
platforms in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for an Iranian missile attack on a
U.S.-flagged tanker off Kuwait. [see Apr 18, 1988]
    (AP, 10/19/97)(HN, 10/19/02)
1987        Oct 19, Black Monday, the stock market crashed as the Dow Jones
Industrial Average, amid frenzied selling, plunged 508 points, 22.6%,-- its
biggest-ever one-day decline. The crash was preceded by legislation to block
tax deductions for debt incurred in corporate takeovers which were fueling the
market. It was also preceded by plunges in other international markets. Hong
Kong suffered a 46% decline in October.
    (V.D.-H.K.p.253)(TMC, 1994, p.1987)(AP, 10/19/97)(SFC,10/27/97, p.B2)

1987        In Ecuador members of the Tagaeri tribe killed Spanish Bishop
Alejandro Lavaca and Colombian nun Ines Arango with poison-tipped spears. The 2
had been dropped in by an oil company helicopter to bring the word of god and
discuss the arrival of oil workers.
    (SFC, 9/3/04, p.W2)

1988        Jan 2, An Ashland Oil Company tank collapsed at Floreffe near
Elizabeth, Penn., sending more than 700,000 gallons of diesel oil into the
Monongahela River.
    (AP, 1/2/98)

1988        Jan 4, Drinking water began to dry up in Pittsburgh suburbs because
of a massive diesel oil spill two days earlier that fouled the Monongahela and
Ohio rivers.
    (AP, 1/4/98)

1988        Apr 18, The United States destroyed two more Iraqi oil platforms,
after a mine in the Persian Gulf injured 10 crewmen aboard a U.S. frigate. In
2003 a World Court in a 14-2 decision ruled the US was wrong but doesn't need
to pay damages.
    (AP, 11/7/03)

1988        Apr 23, A drain valve was left open at the Shell Marsh in Martinez,
Ca., and 10,000 barrels of oil (432,000 gallons) poured in the marsh adjoining
Peyton Slough. Shell cleaned the mess and paid $20 million in penalties. The
marsh was purchased with part of the funds and turned into a regional park.
    (SFC, 4/21/98, p.A19-20)(SFC, 4/30/04, p.A17)

1988        May 4, A spectacular explosion occurred at the Shell oil refinery
in Norco, La., on the Mississippi river just north of New Orleans. 8 people
were killed and over 40 injured.
    (http://www.shellfacts.com/Chatterjee_review.html)

1988        Jul 6, A series of explosions and fires destroyed the Piper Alpha
North Sea oil drilling platform. 167 North Sea oil workers were killed.
    (AP, 7/6/98)(SFC, 8/9/04, p.B6)

1988        Basin Electric Power Cooperative of Bismarck paid the US government
$85 million for the Dakota Gasification Co. of Beulah, which had begun as a
$1.5 billion public-private venture under the Carter administration to turn
reduce US dependence on Middle East oil.
    (SFC, 10/15/03, p.A4)

1989        A tanker ran aground near Claymont, Del., spilling 300,000 gallons
of heating oil into the Delaware River.
    (AP, 11/28/04)

1990        Jul 24, Iraq, accusing Kuwait of conspiring to harm its economy
through oil overproduction, massed tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of
tanks along the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border. US warships in Persian Gulf were placed
on alert.
    (AP, 7/24/00)(MC, 7/24/02)

1990        Aug 2, Iraq invaded Kuwait, seizing control of the oil-rich
emirate. The day came to be known in Kuwait as “Black Thursday.ö 330 Kuwaitis
died during the occupation and war. Sadam Hussein, leader of Iraq, took over
Kuwait. G. Bush led an inter-national coalition for sanctions and a demand for
withdrawal. The Iraqis were later driven out in Operation Desert Storm.
    (SFC, 9/4/96, p.A8)(TMC, 1994, p.1990)(AP, 8/2/97)(SFEC, 7/30/00, p.C18)

1990        Aug 7, President Bush ordered U.S. troops and warplanes to Saudi
Arabia to guard the oil-rich desert kingdom against a possible invasion by
Iraq. The US Persian Gulf War began. Operation Desert Shield ended Feb 28,
1991. It cost $8.1 billion and left 383 US casualties with 458 wounded.
    (AP, 8/7/99)(WSJ, 9/22/99, p.A8)(MC, 8/7/02)

1990        Aug 18, A US frigate fired warning shots across the bow of an Iraqi
oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman—apparently the first shots fired by the United
States in the Persian Gulf crisis.
    (AP, 8/18/00)

1990        Sep 23, Iraq threatened to destroy Middle East oil fields and
attack Israel if other nations tried to force it from Kuwait.
    (AP, 9/23/00)

1990        Oct 3, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein made his first known visit to
Kuwait since his country seized control of the oil-rich emirate.
    (AP, 10/3/00)

1990        Oct 18, Iraq offered to sell its oil to anyone—including the United
States—for $21 a barrel, the same price level that preceded the invasion of
Kuwait.
    (AP, 10/18/00)

1990        Dec 19, Iraq urged its people to stockpile oil to avoid shortages
should war break out, and Saddam Hussein declared he was “ready to crush any
attack.ö
    (AP, 12/19/00)

1990        Before the invasion of Kuwait, Iraq was producing about 3.5 million
barrels of oil per day.
    (WSJ, 5/21/96, p.A-12)

1991        Jan 23, Iraqi forces in Kuwait deliberately created a huge oil
spill in the Persian Gulf.
    (SFC, 2/24/98, p.A9)(MC, 1/23/02)

1991        Jan 25, During the Gulf War Iraq sabotaged Kuwait’s main
supertanker loading pier, dumping an estimated 460 million gallons of crude oil
into the Persian Gulf. Missiles fired from western Iraq struck in the Tel Aviv
and Haifa areas, killing one Israeli and injuring more than 40 others.
    (AP, 1/25/01)(SFC, 11/20/02, p.A14)

1991        Mar 7, Iraq continued to explode oil fields in Kuwait.
    (MC, 3/7/02)

1991        Aug 7, The five permanent members of the UN Security Council agreed
to authorize Iraq to sell as much as $1.6 billion in oil over six months to pay
for food, humanitarian supplies and war reparations; however, Baghdad rejected
the resolution.
    (AP, 8/7/01)

1991        Aug 15, The UN Security Council, by a vote of 13-to-one, authorized
Iraq to export one-point-six billion dollars’ worth of oil in a tightly
controlled sale to pay for desperately needed food and medicine.
    (AP, 8/15/01)

1992        Daniel Yergin authored “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money
and Power.ö
    (SSFC, 4/13/03, p.E6)

1992        Texaco quit drilling in Ecuador after nearly 30 years. It left
behind a toxic dump of some 1.8 million gallons of spilled crude oil.
    (SFC, 5/1/03, A8)

1993        Jun 23, UN authorized a worldwide oil embargo against Haiti.
    (MC, 6/23/02)

1994        Aug 11, A US federal jury awarded $286.8 million to some 10,000
commercial fishermen for losses as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill
in Alaska.
    (AP, 8/11/99)

1995        Mar 1, The Bosnian Serb government received a $60 million mortgage
for the oil refinery in Srpski Brod from a Liberian-owned company, Orbal
Marketing Service Ltd. [see Jan 1995] Delivery was made to the Bosnian Serbs in
late March of a supposed nuclear device of red mercury at the Gradiska border.
It was discovered to be a swindle.
    (SFEC,12/14/97, p.A25)

1995        Mar 15, President Clinton issued an executive order formally
blocking a $1 billion contract between Conoco and Iran to develop a huge
offshore oil tract in the Persian Gulf.
    (AP, 3/15/00)

1995        Apr 14, The UN Security Council (Resolution 986) gave permission to
Iraq, still under sanctions for its invasion of Kuwait, to sell $2 billion
dollars' worth of oil to buy food, medicine and other supplies. Iraq later
rejected the offer.
    (AP, 4/14/00)(SFC, 9/24/02, p.A12)

1995        Oct 20, Tiger guerrillas blew up two oil depots in Colombo, Sri
Lanka.
    (SFC, 7/24/96, p.A9)

1995        Iran awarded a $1 billion contract to the American oil firm Conoco,
but US Pres. Clinton scuttled the deal and subsequently banned US companies
from most forms of trading with Iran. He accused Tehran of continued support
for international terrorism. Iran then awarded the oil contract to the French
firm Total.
    (SFC, 4/14/96, p.A14)

1995        Activists forced a reversal of Royal Dutch Shell plans to sink the
Brent Spar oil platform.
    (WSJ, 11/2/04, p.A14)

1995        A strong wind pushed a tanker away from a refinery dock in West
Deptford, N.J., snapping a fuel line that spilled 40,000 gallons into the
Delaware River.
    (AP, 11/28/04)

1996        May 16, UN and Iraqi officials reached a tentative agreement to
resume oil sales of $4 billion a year to buy food and medicine. The oil for
food program mandated that 13% of the UN resources go to northern Kurdish
areas. In 2004 it was reported that illicit trade agreements with neighbors
netted Iraq nearly $11 billion between 1990 and 2003. In 2004 the estimate for
illicit trade was raised to $21.3 billion.
    (SFC, 5/16/96, p.A-9)(SFC, 9/3/01, p.A9)(SFC, 10/9/04, p.A15)(SFC,
11/16/04, p.A9)

1996        May 18, A 40 year agreement was signed between Royal Dutch/Shell
and Perupetro, Peru’s state oil company. Royal Dutch will spend $2.7 bil to
develop a natural gas field.
    (SFC, 5/18/96, p.D-6)

1996        Aug 23, It was reported that British Petroleum signed a 3-year
agreement with the defense ministry of Columbia for $60 mil. for a battalion of
soldiers to protect expansion and construction of new drilling sites.
    (SFC, 8/23/96, p.A20)

1996        A West Coast power blackout affected 4 million people.
    (SFC, 8/15/03, p.A7)

1996        Bolivia passed a hydrocarbons law that paved the way for
privatizations.
    (Econ, 9/13/03, p.34)

1996        The Argentine oil firm Compania General de Combustibles (CGC)
received a contract to drill for oil Sarayaca, Ecuador, home to some 2,000
Quichua Indians. Natives fended off oil drilling well into 2004.
    (SFC, 8/13/04, p.W1)

1998        Mar, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Mexico began talking to reduce oil
output. They pledged to take 2-3% of the world’s oil production off the market
in what came to be called the Riyadh Pact.
    (WSJ, 6/23/98, p.A1)

1998        Aug 14, In China flooding in Daqing broke a levee protecting the
nation’s largest oil field. 155 0f 20,000 wells were closed as 200,000 people
fought the flood.
    (SFC, 8/15/98, p.A10)

1998        Texaco undertook a $40 million oil cleanup in Ecuador. The
Ecuadoran government, PetroEcuador and 5 municipalities released the company
from all liabilities and obligations related to its oil operations. A
class-action suit against ChevronTexaco opened in 2003.
    (SFC, 10/21/03, p.A3)

2000        Feb 5, An oil pipeline began leaking and released some 25,000
gallons below the surface of a frozen pond in the John Heinz National Wildlife
Refuge in southwest Philadelphia.
    (SFC, 2/7/00, p.A10)

2000        Oct 13, Chevron announced plans to acquire Texaco in a deal valued
at $37 billion. Chevron and Texaco agreed to merge on Oct 15 for $35 billion in
stock and $7.5 billion in debt.
    (SFC, 10/14/00, p.A1)(SFC, 10/16/00, p.A1)

2001        Mar 26, In Kazakhstan the Caspian Pipeline Consortium began pumping
crude oil from the Tengiz field to Novorossiysk, Russia’s Black Sea port. The
990-mile Tengiz-Novorossiysk oil pipeline was owned by Kazakhstan, Russia, Oman
and 8 oil companies. Chevron held 15% in the 12-partner consortium.
    (WSJ, 2/26/01, p.A14)(SFC, 3/27/01, p.C4)

2001        cApr 5, Presidents Robert Kocharian of Armenia and Heydar Aliyev of
Azerbaijan met in Key West, Fla., for negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh. A new
$2.7 billion oil pipeline from Baku to Ceyhan, Turkey, was expected to pass
just north of the area. Halliburton Co., was a finalist in engineering bids for
the line and Vice President Chaney was the former chief executive of
Halliburton. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice formerly served on the
Board of Directors for Chevron, a player in the pipeline bid.
    (SFC, 4/4/01, p.A10)

2001        Jul 17, In Moscow Russia and China agreed to plan a $1.7 billion
pipeline for oil from Siberia to northeastern China.
    (SFC, 7/18/01, p.C4)

2001        Aug 20, Four oil companies (Chevron, Shell, Texaco and Unocal)
agreed to clean up MTBE contamination in California caused by leaking storage
tanks. 4 others (ARCO, Exxon, Mobil and Tosco) declined to settle the suit.
    (SFC, 8/21/01, p.A3)

2001        Sep 7, The Utah Attorney General approved the merger of Chevron and
Texaco.
    (SFC, 10/20/04, p.C6)(http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/PrRel/prsept72001.ht
m)

2001-2003    Cuba ran up an oil debt to Venezuela of some $752 million.
    (WSJ, 2/2/04, p.A1)

2002        Feb, Royal Dutch/Shell executives were advised that there were huge
shortfalls in proven oil and natural-gas reserves. The information was not made
public for 2 years.
    (SFC, 2/09/04, p.A1)

2002        Jul 19, In Abiteye, Nigeria, unarmed women occupying at least four
ChevronTexaco facilities took two hostages in a bid to meet with oil
executives.
    (AP, 7/20/02)

2002        Aug 5, Shell Oil agreed to pay $28 million to the Tahoe Public
Utility District to help cleanup contamination from the gasoline additive MTBE.
    (SFC, 8/5/02, p.A17)

2002        China announced a $5.25 billion East-West natural gas project. A
Western consortium backed out in 2004.
    (WSJ, 8/4/04, p.A11)

2002        World oil production reached nearly 67 million barrels per day.
    (SSFC, 3/21/04, p.J3)

2003        Jan 17, Iraq and Russia signed three oil agreements for exploration
and development of oil fields in southern and western Iraq.
    (AP, 1/17/03)

2003        Jan 29, Belgium said oil leaking from the sunken cargo ship
Tricolor (Dec 14) is washing up on the Belgian coastline, damaging wildlife and
beaches.
    (AP, 1/30/03)

2003        Feb 8, Tens of thousands of Venezuelans marched in support of 9,000
oil workers fired for leading a two-month strike against President Hugo Chavez
that battered the economy of this oil-dependent nation.
    (AP, 2/8/03)

2003         Feb 15, Nigerian oil workers launched an indefinite strike that
could shut down crude exports in the world’s 6th largest oil exporter.
    (AP, 2/15/03)

2003        Feb 21, An explosion rocked a Mobil oil refinery on the edge of
Staten Island and 2 workers were killed.
    (AP, 2/21/03)

2003        Feb 21, It was reported that Iraq had recently begun shipping large
quantities of oil through its Khor al Amaya port.
    (WSJ, 2/21/03, p.A1)

2003        Feb 24, Dan Rather interviewed Saddam Hussein via satellite and
Hussein proposed a live debate with Pres. Bush. Hussein said he would rather
die than leave his country and that he would not destroy its wealth by setting
fire to its oil wells in the event of a U.S.-led invasion.
    (SFC, 2/25/03, A10)(AP, 2/26/03)

2003        Feb 25, In Nigeria cars and buses ground to a halt in Africa’s
leading oil-producing nation, gripped by its worst fuel shortage since military
rule ended four years ago. Nigeria, with a population of 120 million people,
consumes 300,000 barrels of crude oil daily. Panic buying followed a recent
strike.
    (AP, 2/25/03)

2003         Feb 26, In Guatemala striking teachers seized a pumping station on
the nation’s only oil pipeline to press their demands for a hefty wage increase
and better schools. About 60,000 of the country’s 80,000 teachers are striking
to demand a near-doubling of salaries that now range from about $190 to $390
per month. They also seek improved school buildings, more books and better
school lunches.
    (AP, 2/27/03)

2003        Mar 8, In India separatist rebels in northeastern Assam state shot
and killed three laborers, ignited a huge fire by launching mortars at an oil
refinery and used explosives to damage a pipeline.
    (AP, 3/8/03)

2003        Mar 18, In Yemen a man shot 4 Hunt Oil company workers. He killed 3
and shot himself dead.
    (SFC, 3/19/03, p.A5)

2003        Mar 19, Boatloads of Nigerian troops headed into the oil-rich Niger
Delta on to put down days of ethnic violence that has left dozens dead and
disrupted multinational oil operations.
    (AP, 3/20/03)(SFC, 3/21/03, p.A9)

2003        Mar 20, The US-led ground war in Iraq began. US Sec. of State
Rumsfeld warned that the attack in Iraq would be “of a force and scope and
scale that is beyond what has been seen before.ö A “shock and aweö strategy was
planned based on a 1996 “rapid dominanceö strategy. The US seized $1.74 billion
in frozen Iraqi assets and declared it would be used for humanitarian purposes.
Iraq set fire to at least 10 oil wells.
    (AP, 3/20/03)(SFC, 3/20/03, p.W1)(SFC, 3/21/03, p.W11)(WSJ, 3/21/03, p.A1)

2003        Mar 22, In Nigeria ethnic militants threatened to blow up 11
multinational oil installations they claimed to have captured in retaliation
for military raids.
    (AP, 3/22/03)

2003        Mar 27, EU governments agreed to ban single-hulled oil tankers
carrying heavy fuel in an attempt to reduce the risk of slicks.
    (AP, 3/27/03)

2003        Mar, Oil flow from Iraq to Syria ceased with the US invasion. It
had reached 130,000 barrels a day providing both countries over $10 million a
month in profits.
    (SFC, 4/11/03, p.A18)

2003        Apr 1, In Nigeria the 12-day rampage by Ijaw extremists has cut the
normal oil output of 2 million barrels a day by 40 percent. Nigeria is the
fifth-biggest supplier of US oil imports.
    (AP, 4/1/03)

2003        Apr 3, The Venezuela government fired 828 more employees from the
state oil monopoly for participating in a two-month strike to oust Pres.
Chavez.
    (AP, 4/4/03)

2003        Apr 10, In the 22nd day of Operation Iraqi Freedom US and Kurdish
troops seized oil-rich Kirkuk without a fight and held a second city within
their grasp as opposition forces crumbled in northern Iraq. Looting in Baghdad
prompted orders for US Marines to crack down on thieves.
    (AP, 4/10/03)(SFC, 4/11/03, p.A1)

2003        Aug 14, A Greek oil tanker that ran aground Jul 27 off the port
city of Karachi broke apart, but officials said the worst was over and rich
fishing grounds nearby were not threatened. The ship carried 378,000 to 450,000
gallons. It leaked an estimated 12,000 metric tons.
    (AP, 8/14/03)(SFC, 8/15/03, p.A3)

2003        Oct 22, It was reported that pirated fuel from Iraq totaled some
2,000 tons for a daily loss of $250,000.
    (SFC, 10/22/03, p.A1)

2003        Dec 5, A tractor in Tracy, Ca., punctured a Chevron oil pipeline
and over 21,000 gallons of oil leaked out. Officials said the leak could exceed
40,000 gallons.
    (SFC, 12/6/03, p.A17)

2003        Dec 30, The Russian Tax Ministry slapped a $3.3 billion bill for
back taxes, fines and other penalties on the oil giant Yukos.
    (SFC, 12/31/03, p.B6)

2003        Dec, George B. Kaiser, head of Kaiser-Francis Oil, took over the
LNG business of El Paso Oil. This included the Energy Bridge technology for
pumping natural gas from new, specially-built off-shore vessels.
    (WSJ, 7/23/04, p.A1)

2003        Oil insiders began to consider that some 180 billion barrels of
oil, trapped in the tar sands of Alberta, were economically viable.
    (Econ, 6/28/03, p.75)

2003        British Petroleum bought half of Russia’s Tyumen Oil Co. for $6.75
billion.
    (Econ, 5/22/04, Survey p.11)

2004        Jan 9, Royal Dutch/Shell announced that it overstated its proven
reserves and planned to slash estimates by 20%.
    (WSJ, 4/20/04, p.A12)

2004        Jan 31, China’s oil-refining boss signed a deal to buy crude oil
from Gabon. Pres. Hu Jintao visited Gabon the next day.
    (Econ, 2/7/04, p.45)

2004        Feb 10, OPEC met in Algiers and agreed to reduce its official
production by 1 million barrels-a-day beginning Apr 1. Current production was
24.5 million.
    (WSJ, 2/11/04, p.A1)

2004        Feb 19, A Japanese consortium announced it will develop an Iranian
oil field with reserves of up to 26 billion barrels. The deal was opposed by
the United States because of fears the money could go to nuclear proliferation.
    (AP, 2/19/04)

2004        Mar 3, Royal Dutch/Shell announced the resignations of CEO Sir
Philip Watts and Walter van de Vijver, head of exploration and production.
    (WSJ, 4/20/04, p.A12)

2004        Mar 22, Oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell said it plans to streamline its
operations in Nigeria. An estimated 1,500 people, or about 30 percent of its
work force of about 5,000, will be laid off.
    (AP, 3/22/04)

2004        Mar 23, A Unocal helicopter with 10 on board went missing in the
Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard found 4 bodies.
    (WSJ, 3/25/04, p.A1)

2004        Mar 31, OPEC voted to cut oil production by 4.1%.
    (SFC, 4/1/04, p.C1)

2004        Apr 29, Cleanup crews arrived at Suisun Marsh in the SF Bay area to
tackle an estimated 60,000 gallon diesel fuel spill from a pipeline operated by
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners of Houston, Texas. The amount of spill was later
raised to 85,000 gallons.
    (SFC, 4/30/04, p.A1)(SSFC, 5/30/04, p.B5)

2004        May 4, Oil prices for June delivery rose to $38.98 a barrel.
    (WSJ, 5/5/04, p.A1)

2004        May 10, Saudi oil ministers called on OPEC to pump more oil.
    (SFC, 5/11/04, p.A1)

2004        May 11, Oil for June delivery rose to 40.06 per barrel, the highest
price in 13 years.
    (SFC, 5/12/04, p.A1)

2004        May 15, In Jordan a three-day World Economic Forum began. Augusto
Lopez-Claros, chief economist and director of the Global Competitiveness
Program in the World Economic Forum, said "oil will remain a source of
instability in the world, and perhaps in the short-term it is the most
significant factor."
    (AP, 5/14/04)(AP, 5/15/04)

2004        May 17, China and Kazakhstan agreed to build a 744-mile crude oil
pipeline to send an initial 10 million tons of Kazakh oil to Xinjiang by 2006.
    (WSJ, 6/17/04, p.A16)

2004        Jun 3, In Beirut, Lebanon, OPEC leaders agreed to raise their
output ceiling by 2.5 million barrels a day.
    (WSJ, 6/4/04, p.A2)

2004        Jul 2, A Norwegian strike began targeting the oil exploration
sector. It incidentally affected two mobile production units, the Petrojarl I,
which ceased operations in early September, and the Petrojarl Varg.
    (AP, 10/13/04)

2004        Jul 4, It was reported that Libya's state-owned Tam Oil Co has
bought the Niger unit of US oil major ExxonMobil Corp, in the first such deal
following an end to US sanctions on Tripoli.
    (AP, 7/4/04)

2004        Aug 9, Oil prices for September delivery of light crude hit a
record high of $44.98 since trading began in NYC in 1983.
    (SFC, 8/10/04, p.A1)

2004        Aug 18, Indian shares slid as oil prices surged to a new high of
$47 a barrel, threatening domestic demand and growth in Asia's fourth-largest
economy.
    (AP, 8/18/04)

2004        Aug 30, Mexico’s state oil company said it believes that vast
untapped oil reserves lie in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
    (WSJ, 8/31/04, p.A10)

2004        Sep 14, Hurricane Ivan whipped western Cuba with 160 mph winds. The
hurricane knocked some 25 million barrels of oil off world markets by causing
undersea mudslides in the Gulf of Mexico.
    (AP, 9/14/04)(WSJ, 10/27/04, p.A1)

2004        Sep 29, In a deal paving the way for future joint ventures, U.S.
oil giant ConocoPhillips has won an auction with a bid of nearly $2 billion US
for the Russian government's 7.6 per cent stake in Russia's Lukoil - the
world's No. 2 oil company by reserves.
    (AP, 9/29/04)

2004        Sep, Construction began on a 620-mile pipeline to take oil from
eastern Kazakhstan into China’s western Xinjiang region.
    (Econ, 11/13/04, p.46)

2004        Oct 5, Light crude oil for November closed at a record $51.09 per
barrel.
    (SFC, 10/6/04, p.C1)

2004        Oct 6, Light crude oil for November closed in NYC at a record
$52.02 per barrel.
    (SFC, 10/6/04, p.C1)

2004        Oct 7, Light crude oil for November closed in NYC at a record
$52.67 per barrel.
    (WSJ, 10/8/04, p.C1)

2004        Oct 11, Light crude oil for November closed in NYC at a record
$53.64 per barrel.
    (SFC, 10/12/04, p.E12)

2004        Oct 14, Light crude oil for November closed in NYC at a record
$54.76 per barrel.
    (SFC, 10/15/04, p.C1)

2004        Nov 25, In Singapore China Aviation Oil (Singapore) filed for
bankruptcy protection following an estimated loss of $550 million from a series
of bets on oil prices.
    (WSJ, 12/6/04, p.A1)

2004        Nov 26, A Cyprus-registered tanker spilled 30,000 gallons of crude
oil into the Delaware River between Philadelphia and southern New Jersey,
creating a 20-mile-long slick that killed dozens of birds and threatened other
wildlife.
    (AP, 11/28/04)

2004        Dec 5, In Nigeria hundreds of protesters besieged two oil platforms
run by Royal Dutch/Shell Group Cos. and ChevronTexaco Corp. in the southern oil
region, shutting down production of 90,000 barrels of oil a day.
    (AP, 12/6/04)

2004        Dec 7, The German-registered MSC Ilona was punctured during a
collision night with the Panama-registered Hyundai Advance near the mouth of
the Pearl River, northwest of Hong Kong. The collision of the container ships
caused a huge oil spill and cleanup effort.
    (AP, 12/9/04)

2004        Dec 10, OPEC agreed to reduce output by one million barrels a day
in hopes of staving off further price declines without triggering a new buying
frenzy.
    (AP, 12/10/04)

2004        Dec 19, Russia's little-known BaikalFinansGroup bought
Yuganskneftegaz, the core production unit of oil giant Yukos, at auction for
$9.3 billion US.
    (AP, 12/19/04)(Econ, 1/1/05, p.49)

2004        Dec 25, President Fidel Castro said a 100-million-barrel crude oil
deposit had been discovered off Cuba by Canadian firms. Cuba imports about half
the petroleum it needs.
    (AP, 12/25/04)

2004        Dec 28, Albania, Bulgaria and Macedonia gave political support to a
$1.2 billion private trans-Balkan pipeline that will allow Russian and Caspian
crude oil to avoid Turkish waters.
    (WSJ, 12/29/04, p.A7)

2004        Dec 30, Russia said it would form a new state oil company base on
the core operations of Yukos and that it would offer a minority stake to China.
    (WSJ, 12/31/04, p.A1)

2004        The new Iraqi government priced local petrol at one American cent
per liter. The policy caused severe shortages as large amounts leaked over to
the black market where prices were significantly higher.
    (Econ, 12/18/04, p.64)

2004        David Goodstein authored "Out of Gas: The End of the Age of Oil."
    (SSFC, 2/22/04, p.M6)
2004        Michael T. Klare authored “Blood and Oil: The Dangers and
Consequences of America’s Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum.ö
    (SSFC, 9/11/04, p.M1)
2004        Peter R. Odell authored “Why Carbon Fuels Will Dominate the 21st
Century’s Global Energy Economy.
    (Econ, 10/9/04, p.77)
2004        Matthew Yeomans authored “Oil: Anatomy of an Industry.ö
    (SSFC, 9/11/04, p.M1)

2005        Jan 12, Nigeria made public plans to build a second $6-billion
liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in the southwestern state of Ondo.
    (AFP, 1/13/05)

2005        Jan 21, The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) posted a decision to
open thousands of acres on Alaska’s North Slope for exploratory oil drilling.
    (SFC, 1/22/05, p.A5)

2005        M