In November 2014, OPEC announced a new strategy geared towards improving its market share. Oil-market analysts interpreted this as an attempt to squeeze higher-cost producers including US shale oil out of the market. Over the next year, crude oil prices crashed, with large repercussions for the...

Oil, US empire, and the Middle East -- The road to the oil shock -- Pursuing petrodollar interdependence -- The triangle to the Nile -- The petrodollar economy -- Visions of petrodollar promise and peril -- Reform and revolt -- Revolution and invasions -- Recoveries and crises -- End of an era.

Starting in late 2008, the U.S. production of tight oil surged, causing a renaissance in the U.S. oil sector that few industry analysts had anticipated. This tight oil boom reduced the dependence of the United States on petroleum imports and allowed it to become a major exporter of gasoline and...