Can you beat them?
Oil and Energy Quiz
Ten questions on the fuel that runs the world and the fights over it, from Rockefeller's Standard Oil and the 1973 embargo to Russian gas and China's power plants. Each answer comes with a short explanation.
- 10 questions
- About 3 minutes
- Medium
- Includes 2 photos
About this quiz
The quiz covers the big stories of energy and power: the breakup of Standard Oil, the founding of OPEC, the 1973 oil shock, the day oil went negative, Norway's oil fund, the pipelines that tied Europe to Russian gas, and the power plants and mines behind China's rise.
It is rated medium. Most questions start from a famous name or event and ask about the part of the story that surprises people. Figures for China come from Orbis's own reporting and are current to September 2026.
Topics in this quiz
Read up first
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Encyclopedia
Seven Sisters
Seven Western oil companies that ran most of the world's oil from the 1940s to the 1970s, setting prices without consulting the producing countries.
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Encyclopedia
1973 Oil Embargo
The 1973 OPEC production cuts and embargo that quadrupled oil prices, weaponized energy, and ended the cheap-oil postwar boom.
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Blog
Why does China control the world's rare earth metals?
China refines about 90 percent of the world's rare earth metals, the magnets inside every phone, EV, and fighter jet. In 2025 it made them a weapon.
