The US petroleum industry: Past as prologue 1970--1992

This report focuses on the developments that shaped the domestic petroleum industry, and US supply and demand patterns between 1970 and 1992. It also highlights foreign demand and refinery trends. These events are presented in statistical terms in Chapter 2, and are described in detail in Chapter 3. Some similarity, in information noted in Chapters 2 and 3 allows each chapter to stand independently, to facilitate the report's use. The report is intended to provide background information on the petroleum industry, and its history, and to act as a reference for those more familiar with the industry. Chapter 2 describes the patterns of change for each component of supply and demand, and briefly touches on the events (fully described in Chapter 3) that induced significant change or fluctuation. Supplemental data are contained in the Appendix section. Chapter 3 presents a chronology of the major petroleum-related events and their consequences. The Chapter also describes the actions or reactions of the petroleum industry to the event, and the impact of the events and actions taken on domestic and/or foreign economies