oil price shock
In 1973, the OPEC countries, headed by Libya, tried to take control of the market in oil. The cartel quadrupled the price of oil, and many member states nationalized the oilfields in their own countries. At this time, no fewer than 12 European countries, including the UK, were more than 60% dependent on OPEC oil, with Portugal and Norway over 80% dependent.
The results were many: oil companies began to develop alternative resources which had previously been uneconomic or where physical conditions were unpropitious as in Alaska and the North Sea; attention shifted to alternative sources of energy, energy conservation, and energy-efficient technology (kilometres/litre rose sharply for most motor vehicles); and many Third World countries, lacking alternative sources of supply or the technology to develop alternatives, found the cost of their oil imports rising painfully.
