02Why Oil
Oil movesthe world.
Energy. Economy. Markets. People. Every one of them still runs, in part, on a barrel of crude.
The scale
The numbersdon't rotate.
~100M
barrels a day
Approximate global oil demand, according to IEA estimates for 2024–25.
~30%
of world energy
Oil's approximate share of global primary energy, the largest of any source (Energy Institute Statistical Review).
~90%
of transport
Roughly how much of the world's transport energy still comes from oil products (IEA).
1 of 3
largest producers
Saudi Arabia is consistently among the world's three largest crude producers and its largest exporter.
Figures are rounded approximations from public sources and change year to year.
Fifty years of headlines
Narratives rotate.Oil remains.
Every decade had its oil story. Each felt like the end of something. None was the end of oil.
1973
The embargo
The Arab oil embargo roughly quadruples crude prices within months and rewires energy policy across the West.
1979
Revolution
Iran's revolution cuts supply and triggers the second oil shock. Inflation and recession follow.
1990
Gulf War
Iraq invades Kuwait. Prices more than double in weeks, then fall back as the conflict resolves.
2008
$147, then $35
WTI peaks near $147 in July as demand booms, then collapses below $40 by December in the financial crisis.
2014
The glut
US shale floods the market and OPEC refuses to cut. Prices fall by more than half by early 2016.
2020
Below zero
In April, lockdowns crush demand and the expiring WTI May contract settles at roughly −$37 a barrel. Storage, not price, becomes the story.
2022
War premium
Russia's invasion of Ukraine sends Brent above $120 and puts energy security back at the top of every agenda.
Now
Still here
OPEC+ quotas, shipping lanes, sanctions, rate cuts, EV adoption: different headlines, same commodity underneath.
The conversation
Ten narratives.One commodity.
OPEC+
A room of producers decides how many barrels the world gets.
Inflation
Fuel feeds into almost every price: freight, food, flights.
Supply shock
One pipeline, strait or refinery offline can move global prices.
War
Conflict near supply routes is priced in within hours.
Recession
Demand falls, prices fall, and the barrel becomes a growth gauge.
Production cuts
Less supply on purpose: the market's oldest lever.
Global demand
Asia's growth, aviation's recovery, petrochemicals' rise.
Transportation
Ships, trucks and planes still overwhelmingly run on oil.
Energy
The transition is real, and it's built on decades of oil.
Trade
Crude is the most traded commodity on earth, priced in dollars.
Memes rotate.
Hold $PRINTS.Earn USO.
The printer runs on oil.
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