The second oil crisis

The Shah was deposed and Ayatollah Khomeini came to power. On this occasion, both the oil companies and the governments of the petroleum producing nations overreacted. Although each country had sufficient oil stocks to cope with a brief crisis, crude was hoarded on a large scale. Prices rose to an even higher level than in the 1973-74 crisis, peaking at USD 34 per barrel. That was favourable in a way for Norway as an oil producer. After Iraq attacked Iran in 1980, oil prices also rose sharply. The outcome was that the cost of crude stayed unusually high for several years.

This meant that changes took place in the market, and that decisions were taken to develop new fields on the NCS.