Jan 1974 - oil jumps from $4.31 to $10.11
1979-80 oil jumps $15 to $40
oil holds at slightly under $30 til Mar 1986 down to $12
October 1990 oil hits $36
mid 90s oil stays around $20
2000 - oil rises to $30
2006 - oil rises to $76
summer 2008 oil hits the $140s

One of the reasons for the 1970s to 80s price increase was due to the U.S. Government price controls on oil.... in an effort to make oil go down it backfired for a number of reasons.

- also we shouldn't count on any new refineries built anytime soon unless the are subsidized by the government, because it generally takes 20-30 years for a refinery to pay itself off and most oil companies are not willing to bet on the price of oil and alternatives at that point.



forecast for oil is @ -/$102 for NOV. .... after that it's anyone's guess