The recorded history of crude oil use dates back about 5,000 years, with the Babylonians using it to waterproof their boats and as mortar in the construction of structures.

Explore a timeline of US dependence on crude oil from 1850 to 2023

Oil dependence began with the rise of oil as a commodity, followed by an era of geopolitical competition for the resource after World War II. The domestic fracking boom, which started around 2006, was driven by a desire to reduce the nation's dependence on international adversaries for energy.

View a breakdown of worldwide oil production since 1900, mostly led by the US

When analyzing the production of crude oil, shale oil, oil sands, and condensates since the start of the 20th century, Saudi Arabia produced more crude oil only in 1977, from 1979 to 1981, and from 1991 to 2016. Nations such as Iraq and the United Arab Emirates produced much smaller quantities than both Saudi Arabia and the US.

The story of the first commercial US oil well and why crude oil is measured in barrels

The 1859 oil discovery in Titusville, Pennsylvania, sparked a boom in oil exploration and production to meet the demand for kerosene lamp fuel. Because the 42-gallon barrel was a readily available container already in use for shipping fish, butter, wine, and other goods, it was adopted by the Petroleum Producers Association in 1872 and by both the US Geological Survey and the US Bureau of Mines in 1882.

Trace the rise of oil: from early drilling to today’s global power

This animated map video vividly illustrates how petroleum shaped global politics and industry—from 18th-century uses and 19th-century drilling booms in North America to today’s OPEC strategies, shale revolution, and geopolitical oil influence.

Oil shocks, war, and the 1970s crisis that remade American energy and economics

The oil crises of the 1970s—fueled by Middle East conflict and OPEC's dominance—triggered inflation, price controls, and policy failure. But they also accelerated fracking, alternative energy, and the rise of free-market economics.

See a timeline that shows how volatile oil prices have been for decades, from OPEC-led embargoes in the 1970s and shale surges in the 2000s to the US flipping to become a net oil exporter in 2020.

See where the 100 million barrels of crude oil the world consumes daily end up.

Oil's legacy: fueling industrial growth and shaping imperial strategies

This episode of The Rest Is History podcast traces oil's pivotal role—from fueling industrial growth to steering imperial power. It also examines how access to oil shaped US politics, World War II, and sparked the creation of OPEC following the Suez Crisis.

The 1973 oil embargo by OPEC inspired advances in alternative energy technology

The shortages imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) created a global energy crisis and economic instability after the Arab-Israeli War. This led to investments in green technologies and improvements in automobile fuel efficiency and manufacturing.

Understanding why the US can't use its own crude oil and depends on global markets

Before advancements in fracking technology made lighter shale oil readily available, US refineries had been built and optimized for decades to process heavier oil from other countries with high profitability. Despite being able to refine lighter oil, US oil companies can operate with better margins by exporting it to other nations whose refineries are optimized for it and importing heavier oil, for which the US has the infrastructure.

Unless prices of fossil fuels rise significantly, their production is expected to slow

US oil and natural gas production skyrocketed from 2000 to 2020, largely due to advances in fracking. However, weak global energy prices have prevented this boom from translating into increased profits for fossil fuel companies.

The 1967 war was the first use of oil as a geopolitical weapon

Following the June 1967 Arab–Israeli war, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Libya, and Algeria embargoed oil shipments to the US, UK, and West Germany. While the move did not have a large impact, it reshaped global oil flows, and foreshadowed OAPEC's later actions.

Fracking has led to an increased global oil supply, contributing to lower oil prices

Fracking technology has significantly increased how much crude oil the US produces. As more countries adopt fracking technology, there could be an increased downward pressure on prices—although fracking has been widely criticized for its negative environmental impacts.

OPEC's 1973 embargo sparked the first global energy shock.

Fracking originated in the American Civil War

After witnessing how artillery created fissures in narrow water channels, a Civil War veteran wondered if the process could be replicated in underground wells to extract oil. He patented an "exploding torpedo" for this purpose, which became the foundation for future fracking techniques.

The US exported more crude oil and petroleum products than it imported in 2025

In fact, the US has been exporting more oil and petroleum products than it imports since August 2021. Petroleum and petroleum product exports totaled about 10.7 million barrels per day, whereas imports totaled about 7.9 million barrels per day.

Crude oil is the type of oil used to create fuel like gasoline, heating oil, and more

Technically speaking, crude oil is unrefined petroleum. This article dives into the different ways it’s categorized (by density, sulfur content, and origin), and how the combinations of these types of oil are used.

1970s U.S. energy crisis sparked waves of green innovation

Faced with the 1973 Arab oil embargo, the U.S. responded with bold innovation—enacting a 55 mph speed limit, pioneering daylight saving time, boosting solar research, expanding nuclear power, and pushing energy-efficient building designs and automotive technologies

The US shipped nearly 4 billion barrels of oil abroad in 2024

More than half of the US’s oil is exported as the country produces mainly light, sweet crude but has many refineries that handle heavy, sour types.

As of 2022, the US accounted for nearly one-fifth of global oil production

By 2022, the US had cemented its position as the world’s top oil producer with close to 18 million barrels per day. This eclipsed Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Iran's 1979 revolution sparked a second oil shock—and reconfigured global energy markets.

Despite the misconception that it comes from dinosaurs, crude oil forms when microorganisms, such as algae and plankton, are subjected to high pressure and high temperature while buried under layers of sediment.

Oil markets are seeing higher costs and lower prices amid tech breakthroughs

Experts say oil demand has not yet reached its peak. Recent technological breakthroughs in the oil industry include advances in drilling and extraction, as well as subsurface technologies.

Hear Steve Ballmer explain how US gas prices are affected by the global price of oil.

To use the various chemicals in crude oil, they must often be cracked—broken down into smaller molecules—to make their processing easier in everyday machines.

Why have gas prices surged nearly 27% since the Iran war began?

Oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz makes up only about 7% of US crude imports. However, crude oil prices account for 51% of the cost of a gallon of gas in the US. US refiners pay the Brent crude futures price, even for domestic drilling.

How crude oil is split across oil markets based on geographic origin

Brent, West Texas Intermediate, and Dubai are the three crude oil classes and differ in terms of typical refinery uses, density, sulfur content, and suitability for financial benchmarking. Brent, which originates in the North Sea, is traders' go-to benchmark, in part, because it is easily shipped and politically stable, and used to price most of the crude sold internationally.

Demystifying the claim that crude oil is inorganically created and a renewable resource

The abiogenic petroleum theory holds that fossil fuels originate in Earth's mantle and are constantly replenished, rather than formed by microorganisms over millions of years. While inorganic chemical processes can produce simple hydrocarbons, the range of complex molecules found in crude oil suggests an origin from a diverse set of organisms. Isotope analyses of these molecules also support the model that they originated from living things that preferentially take up certain isotopes over others.

The US stores hundreds of millions of oil barrels in caves along the Texas-Louisiana coast

The US has a Strategic Petroleum Reserve that it taps into, releasing barrels into the economy, during times of emergency (think: major storms and wars) to try to stabilize markets.

Oil prices spiked when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022

The price of a barrel of Brent crude experienced volatility in the early 2020s. This chart shows price spikes at the beginning of the pandemic and again when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Federal subsidies have boosted US fracking profits

Between 2000 and 2020, the US government invested tens of billions of dollars to facilitate the extraction of shale oil and gas reserves. These subsidies helped make new projects viable and kept fossil fuel companies afloat while global energy prices and renewable energy startup costs have fallen.

China is the world’s largest importer of crude oil

China is pushing to reduce its reliance on US oil to limit geopolitical vulnerabilities. It’s rapidly becoming the world’s renewable energy superpower.

View the 45 gallons of refined products created from each 42-gallon barrel of crude oil

More than 85% is refined into fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, while about 10% is converted into raw materials for plastics, synthetic rubbers, and other essential products, such as lubricants. Because the majority of these products are less dense than the starting crude oil and additional inputs are introduced during the refining process, there is a processing gain of three gallons.

The fracking industry has created hundreds of thousands of jobs since 1949

The method of extracting fossil fuels from shale rock formations has saved Americans an estimated $23B annually in energy costs. Every year, fracking generates billions of gallons of wastewater and causes methane—a greenhouse gas that is over 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide—to leak into the atmosphere.

How disruptions in oil markets can drive up the price of everyday goods

Most types of plastic are made from polymers derived from chemicals produced by the processing and refining of crude oil and natural gas. Spikes in the cost of either fossil fuel raise the cost of wrappings, tubs, and other plastic containers for products.

OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) has grown from five to 12 members since 1960.

About 10% of the world's crude oil and 32% of its natural gas is reached via fracking

Most of the world's shale oil resources—which are recoverable via fracking—are found in Russia, the US, China, Argentina, and Libya. The majority of equivalent shale gas resources are found in China, Argentina, Algeria, the US, Canada, and Mexico.

An overview of crude oil, including its constituent hydrocarbons and refinement outputs

The mixture is primarily composed of molecules of carbon and hydrogen atoms bonded into a variety of shapes and lengths, giving each different chemical properties, such as boiling points. Refining can remove elemental impurities—such as sulfur—after hydrocarbons are separated, ensuring the resulting products can be used effectively in other machines, such as car engines.

In 2019, the US became a net energy exporter thanks to the fracking boom

The US began exporting more energy than it consumed that year, making it a net energy exporter. Energy imports have decreased every year since 2007, as improved technology has increased the number of accessible domestic oil and natural gas reserves.

A report found that the 2026 Iran war is the largest oil supply disruption in history.

The winding journey from Standard Oil to the modern oil industry

Standard Oil’s impact on the business world can be clearly seen today in oil giants like Exxon and Chevron. But the journey from the Rockefellers’ trust to the modern firms was a windy road. After the Supreme Court ordered Standard Oil’s break up, the first step saw it separate into many state-based companies like Standard Oil of California and the Ohio Oil Company. Visualize it here.

The number of annual oil spills has dropped dramatically since the 1970s

Oil spills from oil tankers—which can have a sharp, short-term impact on oil prices—have become increasingly rare over the decades in part because of stricter regulations.

View a sample of objects surprisingly derived from crude oil, including chewing gum and lipstick

Crude oil processing produces a variety of fuels and the building blocks for plastics, but it also distills out the hydrocarbons used to make aspirin, Teflon, vinyl, crayons, candles, Tupperware, roofing shingles, asphalt pavement, hair dye, anesthetics, food-grade lubricants, polyester, synthetic rubber, and resins for items like dentures.

The price of crude oil accounts for roughly half of the price displayed at the gas pump

The world derives more of its energy from oil than from any other resource

Coal and gas are second and third, respectively, in terms of where the bulk of the world’s energy consumption stems from. These interactive charts can help you visualize where the world sources the most of its energy.

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor largely because it was running out of oil

This video traces how US-led sanctions and Japan’s near-total dependence on imported oil pushed Japanese leaders toward a high-risk plan: seize Southeast Asian oil fields and neutralize the American Pacific Fleet, hoping Washington would negotiate rather than fight.

Lessons from the 1973 energy crisis still echo in today’s geopolitical battles over oil

The video from the Economist highlights how energy supply disruptions can be weaponized—just as in 1973, today’s gas cutoffs (Russia throttling supplies to Europe after their invasion of Ukraine) reveal the ongoing importance of strategic energy resilience.

High fuel prices and fuel shortages revived dormant interest in EVs

Electric vehicles, in the form of motorized carriages, predate the invention of the gas-powered automobile by over 40 years. The latter's affordability made it more popular until technological advances made EVs more viable to consumers in the early 2000s.

World War I brought attention to US reliance on mineral imports

Domestic stockpiles were inadequate for the extended trade disruptions caused by the four-year war. In response, the US Geological Survey increased its geological mapping to help search for important metals alongside new oil fields for fuel.

Fracking provides access to fossil fuel reserves locked in underground rock

Using a pressurized fluid mixture that is over 90% water, cracks are created in shale about 2 miles deep to release trapped oil and natural gas. The process uses an average of 3 to 6 million gallons of water per well, which can strain local water supplies.