During the First World War, the major participating countries consumed130,000 tons of oil. In the Second World War, the major belligerents engaged in the war against China had greater manpower and material resources, and the consumption of military oil reached more than 300 million tons, more than 20 times that of the First World War. Post-war high-tech wars, such as the British-Amashima War, the Gulf War and the ongoing Kosovo War, consumed even more amazing oil.
Further reading: Review the influence of several wars on crude oil.
1, the Fourth Middle East War (1973.10.03-1973.438+00.22)
During the Fourth Middle East War, in order to resist the interference of Israel and the United States, the Arab world launched an oil war by means of reducing production, stopping production and raising prices. On the day of the war in 654381October 6, Syria first cut off an oil pipeline, and Lebanon also closed Sidon, an important port for transporting oil in the south. 10 in July, Iraq announced that it would nationalize the shares jointly owned by Exxon and Mobile in Basra Oil Company, a subsidiary of Iraqi Oil Company.
Counter measures in the Arab world caused the first oil crisis, and the price of crude oil soared from $3 in 1973 to a high of $3 in 13, with an increase of 400%. The rapid rise in crude oil prices has caused global hyperinflation. The CPI of the United States rose from 3.6 in 1973 to 8.2 at the end of the year, thus causing global economic stagflation.
2. Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq War (1978, 10-1980, 12)
The second oil crisis broke out more than four years after the first oil crisis. The fuse of this oil crisis is the Iranian revolution and the Iran-Iraq war. When the Iran-Iraq war broke out, the oil production of the two countries completely stopped, and the world oil production was completely affected, and the output dropped sharply. There was a gap of 5.6 million barrels per day in the global market, which broke the fragility of the relationship between supply and demand in the global crude oil market at that time. The equilibrium supply is tight again, which leads to the oil price rising again.
During this period, there was a division within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Most member countries advocate going with the market and raising oil prices, while Saudi Arabia advocates freezing oil prices and even increasing production substantially to lower prices. As a result, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries lost its ability to regulate the market. Major exporting countries, in turn, raised official prices, adding fuel to the fire, triggering and aggravating another worldwide economic crisis. Oil prices skyrocketed from 1979, from $0/3 per barrel to $4 1 at the end of 1980.
In 1970s, the oil crisis triggered by the war brought heavy losses to the global economy. 1974, 1980 and 1982, the American economy fell into recession three times, and the inflation level reached the highest level in history, which was called "stagflation" by economists. As can be seen from the following cases, every war in the Middle East oil-producing region will lead to a pulse-like rise in oil prices, and when the war is over, the price of crude oil will drop significantly.