1990 Aug: Iraq invades Kuwait. Crude and product prices soar upward; exchange markets react wildly to any Middle East news events; cash markets dominate prices after trading hours; jet fuel prices rise to record spreads over other products due to increase in defense demand. In late August, OPEC president fails to revive floundering attempts to organize a formal OPEC meeting to discuss crisis/production strategies. Informal meetings held in Vienna result in record price falls. Conflicting reports of promises to increase OPEC output to compensate for embargo of Iraq and Kuwait oil further compound market uncertainties. 2 August: Iraq invades Kuwait. Bush orders troops to Saudi Arabia. 27 August: Market prices plunge as OPEC nears informal agreement to increase output to cover shortfall due to invasion. Cash market trading experiences abrupt decline. September 6: U.S. citizen is shot in Kuwait. API reports weekly draw in domestic crude stocks. Oil markets surge on aggressive U.S. statements toward Iraq. September 18: Crude prices outpace increases in product prices and there is talk of cutting refinery runs. September 20: Poor refining margins. September 21: Reports that U.S. refinery problems will lead to a loss in capacity and aggressive remarks by Saddam Hussein send crude prices to new highs. September 24: Iraq invades the French and Dutch missions in Kuwait. French president Mitterrand called the action a violation of international law. A United States Navy warship boards an Iraqi-flagged tanker bound for the port of Basrah. Saddam Hussein states his willingness to strike first and his intention to damage oil fields in the region if Iraq does strike. October 1: Saddam Hussein says he may be willing to negotiate the occupation of Kuwait and would consider foreign participation in negotiations. October 3: API reports a weekly U.S. crude inventory draw. October 8: Fear of war and long-term supply disruptions as Hussein threatens Israel. October 10: API reports crude inventories dropped by more than in the last week. October 11: Libya's Qadhafi says Israel must be eliminated, and U.K. Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd says force would be used if Iraq doesn't withdrawal from Kuwait. November 5: Reports of increasing Saudi production and lower world demand. November 6: Iran's oil-producing region suffers a serious earthquake. November 7: API reports U.S. crude inventory weekly increase. November 8: Unconfirmed rumors that Bush would announce an airlift of supplies to U.S. embassy in Kuwait, which could ultimately trigger a military clash. November 13: Saudis ask U.S. for rights to bid on SPR crude. November 19: Report that Iraq will bolster its forces in Kuwait. Soviet Union shows reluctance to endorse the use of force against Iraq. November 20: API reports crude inventory drop in U.S. of more than . Saddam Hussein announces plans to release German hostages. November 21: French president Mitterrand voices support of a proposed U.N. resolution that would authorize the use of force in the Persian Gulf. November 26: U.S. proposes addition to U.N. resolution that would require Iraq's withdrawal from Kuwait by January 1. November 29: U.N. Security Council approves U.S.-sponsored resolution authorizing the use of force in the Persian Gulf if Iraq does not withdrawal from Kuwait by January 15, 1991. November 30: President Bush offers to send Secretary of State James Baker to Baghdad to meet with Hussein. December 4: An Iraqi official reports that Iraq will withdraw if it can retain control of the Rumaila Field and keep Bubiyan and Warbah islands; also says that demands that the Palestinian issue be treated separately would not be surmountable. December 5: Iraq announces willingness to speak with U.S. about resolving the Persian Gulf crisis. December 13: Secretary of State Baker questions Iraq's seriousness about Middle East peace. December 18: Bush reiterates his "no concessions" stance against Iraq.
1991 January 4: Reports Iraq will accept U.S. offer for talks in Geneva. January 7: Saddam Hussein prepares his troops for what he says will be a long violent war against the U.S. January 9-January 14: At Geneva talks, Baker says that "regrettably" Iraqi Foreign Minister Aziz has indicated no softening in Iraq's position. Peace talks break down, but there is still talk of a peaceful solution to the crisis. January 15: Report that Iraq has a new peace initiative. January 16: U.S. begins air attack against Iraqi military targets. President Bush directs drawdown of Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). U.S. Secretary of Energy James Watkins orders drawdown. Crude oil prices drop $9–10 per barrel in one day after having risen $3–5 per barrel during the first half of January. January 17: Reports of early U.S. and allied success against Iraqi forces. DOE issues SPR sales notice. January 18: Iraqi Scud missiles land in Israel. January 22: Some Kuwaiti oil facilities are destroyed by Iraq and more Iraqi missile attacks on Saudi Arabia. January 30: United States Department of Energy selects 13 firms to purchase of SPR crude oil. February: Surplus of unsold oil held by oil producers reaches to . February 5: First SPR oil delivered to commercial buyers. February 15: Daily market volatility as Hussein mentions withdrawal, but U.S. president George H. W. Bush calls his offer a "cruel hoax." February 26: Signs of Iran crude now an option for U.S. refiners, but no imports from Iran likely in near future. February 28: War ends. United Nations troops move into Kuwait City. Saddam Hussein orders troops out of Kuwait. Iraqi soldiers ignite Kuwaiti oil fields during their retreat. March 1: News that Kuwait will need to import crude in the short term. March 12: OPEC announces production cut to . March 13: API reports a weekly domestic crude inventory draw; Saudi Arabia and Iran say OPEC production cuts will take effect April 1. March 19: Gorbachev says the Soviet Union will cut its oil exports by nearly half. March 25: Nigerian crude becomes competitive in U.S. Gulf Coast as Nigeria cuts crude prices. April 25: Iraq expects to resume crude and product exports by July. June 3: Kuwait asks GCC members to produce of oil on its behalf. Aug: Unsuccessful coup attempt against Soviet president Gorbachev has minimal effect on oil markets. Oct: Soviet Union suspends petroleum product exports as its fuel shortages grow. NYMEX futures price for WTI climbs nearly $2, ending at $24 per barrel. November: Last of Kuwait oil well fires extinguished by well control teams. November: U.S. Senate filibuster causes withdrawal of an Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) pro-leasing bill. December: Soviet Union collapses as a series of events precipitated by Ukrainian vote for independence leads to formation of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
1992 January: Kuwait reports oil production of ; insists on restoration of its pre-invasion OPEC quota of . March: UN threatens sanctions against Libya for its refusal to extradite suspected terrorists. March: CIS announces that 1991 crude exports dropped by 52%. May: Saudi Arabia supports a crude oil price hike during a late-month OPEC meeting. NYMEX Futures prices exceed $22 per barrel. Oct: OPEC production reaches highest level in more than a decade at . December: U.S., Mexico, and Canada sign the North American Free Trade Agreement, a multi-lateral free trade agreement.
1993 July: Oil prices plunge on speculation that Iraq will accept U.N. missile test site inspections and receive approval to resume oil exports. November: Combination of OPEC overproduction, surging North Sea output, and weak demand lowers the price of Brent to near $15 per barrel.
1994 April: Oil Prices firm on strength of institutional shifting of U.S. investment funds from equity and bond markets to cash and commodities. Apr-September: Nigerian production disrupted by oil workers' strike in response to imprisonment of apparent winner of presidential elections.
1995 January 14: Mexico pledges profits from state-owned Pemex's $7-billion-per-year oil revenues in an effort to secure U.S. congressional approval of $40-billion worth of loan guarantees. Subsequently, President Clinton approved a $20-billion U.S. aid package for Mexico. (DMN) January 30: Norway's Statoil announces that a newly formed consortium of 11 oil companies will develop a plan to supply Norwegian natural gas to the European continent. Three Norwegian companies recently signed a contract with Gaz de France to bring of Norwegian gas to France between 2001 and 2027. (DJ) February 28: The Pentagon announces that it monitored Iranian installation of surface-to-air Hawk missiles in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranians also have taken possession of and fortified the nearby Abu Musa and the Tunb Islands, which are claimed by both Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). (DJ) June 14: After OPEC's semi-annual meeting in Vienna, President Ida Bagus Sudjana discloses the Organization's intention to roll over its present crude oil production ceiling of . The announcement is followed by a trip to Norway by Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Hisham M. Nazer. Upon arriving, the Saudi Minister asks Norwegian Minister of Industry and Energy Jens Stoltenberg to restrain his country's oil production in the hopes of stabilizing world oil prices. (FT, DJ) June 30: Exxon signs a $15.2-billion deal to develop oil and gas fields near Russia's Sakhalin Island. The Sakhalin I project will develop the offshore Shayvo, Odoptu, and Arkutun-Dagi fields that together are estimated to contain of crude oil and of natural gas. Exxon has a 30 percent stake in the project. (NYT, DJ) July 6: Venezuela's Congress approves the country's first investment law allowing for foreign participation in oil exploration and production. The newly passed "model agreement" authorizes the state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) to offer 10 exploration blocks to foreign investors. If oil is discovered, the government will maintain a majority stake in any joint venture formed to develop the new fields. (FT, DJ) July 27: Saudi Aramco awards the giant Shaybah oil field development project to U.S.-based Parsons Corporation. The $2.5-billion project will develop the field, including the construction of crude oil production facilities, gas-oil separation plants, and a 372 mile (599 km) pipeline. The Shaybah field is located on the Saudi-UAE border and is expected to produce after it comes on line in 1999. (PON) July 28: Norwegian Finance Minister Sigbjorn Johnsen says that Norway should not lower its crude oil production in an attempt to boost world oil prices. Norwegian Oil Minister Jens Stoltenberg believes production cuts may be necessary if prices begin to fall. Minister Johnsen's remarks follow last month's visit by Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Hisham M. Nazer, who asked Minister Stoltenberg to cut Norway's crude oil production. (PON) 2 August: Saudi Arabia's King Fahd issues a decree replacing all members of the Council of Ministers who do not have blood ties so the royal Family. While most of the council's top positions are unaffected by the reshuffling, Oil Minister Hisham Nazer is replaced with Ali bin Ibrahim al-Naimi. (WSJ) 14 August: Iran's official news agency, IRNA, reports that Iran has been unable to sell of crude oil since the imposition of a unilateral oil embargo by the U.S. Iran increasingly has sold its crude oil on spot markets as opposed to long-term contracts. Larger purchases by France, Spain, Italy, China, India, Pakistan, and Thailand have failed to offset decreased demand by German and Japanese refiners. Before the U.S. embargo was announced in April 1995, U.S. companies were buying between 400,000 and , down from roughly in 1994. (PON) 28 August: Kuwaiti Oil Minister Abdul Mohsen al-Medej announces that his country will increase its oil production capacity to as much as by 2005. (DJ)