Skip to content
British Broadcasting Corporation
  • Home
  • News
  • Football 2026
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Health
  • Culture
  • Arts
  • Travel
  • Earth
  • Sport
  • Audio
  • Video
  • Live
Witness History, Witness History, The oil crisis of 1973

Witness History

Witness History

The oil crisis of 1973


Up next

Witness History, Witness History, The oilfield that changed Kazakhstan

The oilfield that changed Kazakhstan

Witness History, Witness History, Nigeria strikes oil

Nigeria strikes oil

Witness History, Witness History, The Amoco Cadiz oil spill

The Amoco Cadiz oil spill

Witness History, Witness History, Protectors of the Amazon

Protectors of the Amazon

Witness History, Witness History, Yinka Shonibare: Nelson's Ship in a Bottle

Yinka Shonibare: Nelson's Ship in a Bottle

Witness History, Witness History, The 84-year-old primary school pupil

The 84-year-old primary school pupil

Witness History, Witness History, Theodosia Okoh: Designer of Ghana’s flag

Theodosia Okoh: Designer of Ghana’s flag

Witness History, Witness History, Kwame Nkrumah: Ousted from power

Kwame Nkrumah: Ousted from power

Witness History, Witness History, Surviving an acid attack and changing the law

Surviving an acid attack and changing the law

Witness History, Witness History, Cambodian peace walk

Cambodian peace walk

Witness History, Witness History, Rana Plaza building collapse

Rana Plaza building collapse

Witness History, Witness History, Mexico’s murdered women

Mexico’s murdered women

Witness History, Witness History, Launching Lagos Fashion Week

Launching Lagos Fashion Week

Witness History, Witness History, Osmondmania

Osmondmania

Witness History, Witness History, The first Bosphorus Bridge

The first Bosphorus Bridge

Witness History, Witness History, The 1980 Turkey coup

The 1980 Turkey coup

Witness History, Witness History, The 1993 MAD hijack

The 1993 MAD hijack

Witness History, Witness History, 'The streets of Harare were littered with money'

'The streets of Harare were littered with money'

Witness History, Witness History, Turkey: Gezi Park protests

Turkey: Gezi Park protests

Witness History, Witness History, The billion dollar bid to stop oil drilling in the Amazon

The billion dollar bid to stop oil drilling in the Amazon

Witness History, Witness History, The discovery of the HIV virus

The discovery of the HIV virus

Witness History, Witness History, Inventing the black box

Inventing the black box

Witness History, Witness History, Che Guevara’s daughter: A Cuban doctor in Angola

Che Guevara’s daughter: A Cuban doctor in Angola

Witness History, Witness History, Freddie Mercury 'marries' Jane Seymour

Freddie Mercury 'marries' Jane Seymour

Witness History, Witness History, Ycuá Bolaños supermarket fire

Ycuá Bolaños supermarket fire

Witness History, Witness History, Debbie McGee in Iran

Debbie McGee in Iran

Witness History, Witness History, The Pakistani teens who became disco superstars

The Pakistani teens who became disco superstars

Witness History, Witness History, Destruction of Mostar Bridge

Destruction of Mostar Bridge

Witness History, Witness History, The hippo and the tortoise

The hippo and the tortoise

Witness History, Witness History, The invention of the EpiPen

The invention of the EpiPen

2 October 2023

9 minutes

Available for over a year

In October 1973, Arab nations protested the American support of Israel in its war against Egypt and Syria by slashing oil production, causing prices to sky rocket.

Dr Fadhil Chalabi was deputy secretary general of Opec (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries). In 2014 he spoke to Alex Last about the embargo.

(Picture: Empty gas pump in 1973. Credit:Getty Images)

See more episodes

Programme website


British Broadcasting Corporation
  • Home
  • News
  • Football 2026
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Health
  • Culture
  • Arts
  • Travel
  • Earth
  • Sport
  • Audio
  • Video
  • Live
  • Weather
  • BBC Shop
  • BritBox

The BBC is in multiple languages

Read the BBC In your own language

BBC News Brasil
BBC News Mundo (Spanish)
BBC News မြန်မာ (Burmese)
BBC News 中文 (Chinese)
BBC News Indonesia
BBC News 코리아 (Korean)
BBC News ไทย (Thai)
BBC News Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
BBC News Azərbaycanca (Azeri)
BBC News Кыргыз Кызматы (Kyrgyz)
BBC News Polska (Polish)
BBC News Русская служба (Russian)
BBC News na srpskom (Serbian)
BBC News Україна (Ukrainian)
BBC News O'zbek (Uzbek)
BBC News عربي (Arabic)
BBC News فارسی (Persian)
BBC News Türkçe (Turkish)
BBC News বাংলা (Bengali)
BBC News دری (Dari)
BBC News ગુજરાતી (Gujarati)
BBC News हिन्दी (Hindi)
BBC News मराठी (Marathi)
BBC News नेपाली (Nepali)
BBC News සිංහල (Sinhala)
BBC News ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (Punjabi)
BBC News Afaan Oromoo
BBC News አማርኛ (Amharic)
BBC News Afrique (French)
BBC News Hausa
Gaelic NAIDHEACHDAN
BBC News Ìgbò
Japanese 日本語
BBC News Gahuza
Kirundi KIRUNDI
BBC News Pidgin
BBC News Somali
BBC News Swahili
BBC News தமிழ் (Tamil)
BBC News తెలుగు (Telugu)
BBC News ትግርኛ (Tigrinya)
BBC News اردو (Urdu)
BBC News Yorùbá
Follow BBC on:
  • Terms of Use
  • Subscription Terms
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Contact the BBC
  • Advertise with us
  • Do not share or sell my info
  • BBC.com Help & FAQs
  • Content Index
  • Set Preferred Source

Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.