🛢️ Fun Fact Friday – 1982 Edition “When Oil Jobs Peaked and the Glut Kicked In”

In 1982, America’s oil and gas workforce hit a record high: 267,000 people employed in extraction alone. From the oilfields of Texas to offshore rigs in the Gulf, this was a moment of peak production, peak confidence—and as it turned out, the peak before the pivot.

Despite the employment boom, the petroleum industry was heading into an unexpected chapter: the oil glut of the 1980s. After years of tight supply, embargoes, and rising prices in the '70s, the global market flipped. New oilfields came online, investment in production had paid off, and suddenly—there was too much oil.

Demand wasn’t keeping up. High gas prices had already shifted consumer behavior. Americans were driving less, carpooling more, and choosing smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The 1970s energy crisis had made its mark.

In response, OPEC introduced production quotas for the first time in its history, attempting to control supply and stabilize prices. But cooperation was rocky. Non-OPEC countries, like the U.S. and the Soviet Union, kept pumping. Prices kept falling.

💡 Back on U.S. soil, this meant major change.The early '80s brought new environmental regulations, lead phase-outs, and increased scrutiny around underground storage tanks. Gas stations started modernizing—with tighter safety standards, new technologies, and a growing emphasis on compliance.

For fuel and equipment distributors like EOH, 1982 was a year of adapting fast. Navigating regulations, supporting station upgrades, and helping customers stay ahead of the curve was all in a day’s work.