1980–1989 world oil market chronology

Okay, let's imagine that you have a big box of snacks that you really love to eat. You love them so much that you always want to have some available to eat whenever you want. Now, imagine that all of your snack boxes suddenly got really expensive and you couldn't afford to buy as many as you wanted. That's kind of what happened with oil in the 1980s.

In the 1980s, oil was very important to many countries around the world because it was used to make all kinds of things like gas for cars, heat for homes and factories, and even electricity. But, there were some problems that made the prices of oil go up and down a lot during this time.

First, some countries that made a lot of oil, like Saudi Arabia and Iran, decided to limit how much oil they sold to other countries. This made the price of oil go up because there wasn't as much available to buy.

Then, in 1980, there was a war between Iran and Iraq, which are both countries that make a lot of oil. This war made it even harder for people to get enough oil, and the price of oil went up even more.

In 1986, a group of countries that make a lot of oil, including Saudi Arabia, decided to start selling more oil to other countries again. This made the price of oil go down again because there was more available to buy.

Throughout the 1980s, different countries, including the United States, tried to find ways to use less oil so that they wouldn't have to rely on other countries as much. They did things like making cars that used less gas, using solar panels to make electricity, and even finding ways to use things like corn to make fuel instead of oil.

So, basically, the 1980-1989 world oil market was a really complicated time when some countries limited how much oil they sold, a war made it even harder to get oil, and then some countries started selling more again. It was a time when lots of people realized that relying on oil all the time wasn't the best idea, so they tried to use less of it and find new ways to make energy.