Photograph was edited for publication purposes. The 1979 Oil Crisis was an energy crisis characterized by a precipitous drop in oil production for the second time in the 1970s (the first being in 1973). In the wake of the Iranian Revolution, 37,000 Iranian oil refinery employees went on strike in 1978, causing Iran's oil refineries to go from producing 6 million barrels per day to 1.5 million barrels per day. The global oil supply decreased by 7 percent, causing a surge in oil pricing and within 12 months oil markets had doubled to $39.50 per barrel. This surge caused major gas shortages, long gas lines, and panic buying. In the United States, the Jimmy Carter administration began a phased deregulation of oil prices on April 5, 1979, which allowed U.S. oil output to rise sharply from the Prudhoe Bay fields in Alaska, while oil imports fell sharply. It wasn't until the mid-1980s that oil prices returned to pre-crisis levels. Photograph caption dated April 15, 1979 reads, "L.A. resident Pil Des Jesus was one of many Southland motorists waiting in long lines to fill up the gas tank for the holiday weekend." The photo was taken at a 76 Station at Vermont Avenue and Olympic Boulevard. De Jesus poses with his arms spread out from the driver side window of his Mustang, while an Audi 100 LS also awaits service ahead of him.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print : b&w ; 30 x 17 cm. Photographic prints
Union 76 (Firm) Service stations Gasoline pumps Gasoline supply Gas companies Mustang automobile Automobile drivers Automobiles Signs and signboards Streets Dwellings Trucks Bus stops Men Los Angeles (Calif.)
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