Three years have elapsed since the Arab oil embargo and oil price explosion shattered the political and economic foundations that had supported the post-World War II era of cheap energy. But whatever the cost to consumers, however incalculable the price paid by industry worldwide, this much is clear: the multinational oil industry has survived the shocks of supply interruption and price explosion. The private oil companies, most of which are American-based, still control gigantic, far-flung distribution systems that supply petroleum products to consumers in non-Communist countries throughout the world. Moreover, several of the larger companies are now, in reality, energy companies, possessing substantial capabilities in other fossil and nuclear fuels.

The oil industry did not, however, escape unscathed from the shocks of 1973—74. Most importantly, the companies lost their ability to reap large profits from sales of the crude oil they produced at very low costs in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). These profits and much more are now being mostly captured by the governments of the producer countries. In addition, during the Arab oil embargo, the companies aroused fears in Western Europe and Japan about the "fairness" of their allocations of scarce supplies. Most consumer country governments are now satisfied that the private oil companies did not generally exploit the shortage to maximize their financial gain but rather made reasonable efforts to distribute the overall supply shortfall pro rata worldwide. (This approach, of course, displeased countries such as France which, because of its pro-Arab policies, thought itself entitled to preferred treatment from the private companies. ) Nevertheless, many of the companies were condemned for their "obscene" profits in 1974, profits resulting mainly from one-time inventory write-ups after the OPEC price increases. And then several oil companies were exposed and denounced for their illegal political contributions in the United States and acts of bribery abroad, although such conduct was by no means confined to the oil industry.