The Recessions of 1973,1980,1991,2001,2008 Were Caused By High Oil Prices. In Nigeria production has fallen by 10% daily due to leaks caused by the plundering of the oil by political trouble Economists have observed that the 2010s oil glut started with a considerable time-lag, more than six years after the beginning of the Great Recession: "the price of oil [had] stabilized at a relatively high level (around $100 a barrel) unlike all previous recessionary cycles since 1980 (start of First Persian Gulf War). But nothing guarantee[d Great Recession, economic recession that was precipitated in the U.S. by the financial crisis of 2007–08 and quickly spread to other countries. Lasting from late 2007 until mid-2009, it was the longest and deepest economic downturn in many countries, including the U.S., since the Great Depression (1929–c. 1939).