Oil crisis in reverse

Ayatollah Khomeini’s rise to power in Iran during 1979 had led to a sharp rise in the cost of oil, and members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) wanted to maximise sales to take advantage of this increase.

Saudi Arabia and others expanded their output, which in turn resulted in overproduction and eventually to a sharp slump in prices – “the oil crisis in reverse”.

This led to a difficult time for Norway’s petroleum sector and Norwegian industry in general. The world oil business was driven to implement major restructuring programmes.

The low crude prices encouraged a heavy commitment to technological solutions which could reduce the cost of exploration and production.