The big news, yesterday, was that the US domestic crude oil production exceeded imports in October for the first time in nearly twenty years. Production hit 7.7 million barrels per day, and imports averaged 7.6 million bpd. In terms of historical perspective, the output would match the level seen in 1995. What happened next? Well, in the ensuing years, the government of Venezuela got aggressive in wanting to secure US market share for its oil, and Saudi Arabia responded by ramping up production, causing prices to crash to below $10 per barrel in 1998.