Official price of Saudi Light remains at $12.37 per barrel throughout 1976.
February: EPCA 3-tier price regulation begins. Small changes in Entitlements Program.
April - May: Lebanese civil war causes a drop in Iraq exports through trans-Lebanon pipelines to the Mediterranean.
May: OPEC issues press release vowing to "take appropriate measures" to protect OPEC interests in light of protectionist actions by certain countries.
September 1: U.S. stripper well oil prices decontrolled.
December 14: 640-foot (200 m) oil tanker Argo Merchant runs aground on the Nantucket Shoals, spilling 7.6 million US gallons (29,000 m3) of No. 6 fuel oil.
December: Moderates and OPEC "hawks" disagree on how fast oil prices should rise. Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates increase prices by 5 percent, others by 10 percent.
