1989
- March: Exxon tanker Valdez runs aground, spilling 11 million US gallons (42,000 m3) of crude oil in the waters of Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef. Oil prices react upward to news of the spill and to potential shortages on the west coast caused by refinery fires there.
- June: OPEC raises their production ceiling to 19.5 Mbbl/d (3,100,000 m3/d).
Read more about this topic: 1980-1989 World Oil Market Chronology