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The energy crisis

Margaret Thatcher with technicians aboard the North Sea oil rig 'Sea Quest' in September 1975.

Margaret Thatcher with technicians aboard the North Sea oil rig "Sea Quest" in September 1975.
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Israel was attacked by neighboring Arab states in 1967, and the Six Day War began. Arab oil producers embargoed western oil exports, putting pressure on Israeli support in the west. After the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Arab states used oil supply as a weapon against the west, leading to the British oil crisis and the three-day week.

Related documents

Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC)

Cabinet Memorandum. The Oil Supply Situation. Memorandum by the Minister of Power. 21 July 1967 (PDF, 1.179MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The Oil Situation: Memorandum by the Minister of Power. 12 September 1967 (PDF, 0.760MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Middle East. June 1967. (PDF, 1.317MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Oversea Affairs: Middle East. 13 June 1967 (PDF, 1.351MB)

Cabinet Conclusions. Middle East. 11 July 1967 (PDF, 2.788MB)

Oil as a weapon against the west

Confidential Annex 3 Cabinet Conclusion 2. Oil Supplies. 16 October 1973 (PDF, 1.256MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 3. Oil Supplies. 18 October 1973 (PDF, 1.738MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 3. Foreign Affairs: Oil Supplies. 25 October 1973 (PDF, 3.494MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Foreign Affairs: Oil Supplies. 29 November 1973 (PDF, 2.072MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Oil Allocation: Memorandum by the Lord President of the Council. 14 November 1973 (PDF, 0.658MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 6. Oil Supplies. 22 November 1973 (PDF, 2.610MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 5. Fuel Restrictions. 13 December 1973 (PDF, 2.892MB)

Cabinet Memorandum Conservation of Fuel Supplies. Memorandum by the Lord President of the Council. 3 December 1973 (PDF, 1.905MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Energy Saving: Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Energy. 2 December 1974 (PDF, 1.428MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Price and Pay Code: Draft White Paper: Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 21 March 1973 (PDF, 9.891MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Prices Policy. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection. 12 March 1974 (PDF, 0.829MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Review of the Price Code: Consultative Document. 7 November 1974 (PDF, 13.137MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Draft White Paper on Inflation. Note by the Secretary of the Cabinet. 8 July 1975 (PDF, 3.844MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Draft White Paper on Inflation. Note by the Secretary of the Cabinet. 9 July 1975 (PDF, 3.419MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The Attack on Inflation The Second Year. Note by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 21 June 1976 (PDF, 1.107MB)

The Continental Shelf Act

Cabinet Conclusion 5. Gas Industry. 3 February 1966 (PDF, 1.731MB)

Discovery of commercial oil

Cabinet Memorandum. North Sea Oil Policy: Draft Statement: Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Energy. 1 July 1974 (PDF, 1.064MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Fifth Round of Offshore Petroleum Production Licensing: British National Oil Corporation Contribution to Costs. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Energy. 10 May 1976 (PDF, 0.605MB)

Search using Continental Shelf Act energy crisis OPEC

Further reading

Feldman, D.L., The Energy Crisis Unresolved Issues and Enduring Legacies (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996)

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