ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on regional dimension in the United States and Canada of fluctuations in energy prices. It outlines the role of the oil and gas sector in regional growth and development and the mechanisms through which shifts in energy prices affect the structure and performance of the oil and gas producing regions in the two countries. The chapter also focuses on the implications for the industrial structure and general character of the region and presents the implications for land use planning. The 1973–1981 experience is used to demonstrate the implications of rising oil prices while evidence from the post-1981 period is employed to illustrate the effects of falling prices. The discovery of oil and the development of the petroleum industry marked a major shift in the evolutionary path of the agrarian hinterland economies. There are some striking similarities between the petroleum industry and the agricultural sector that initially dominated the economic bases of Texas, Oklahoma and Alberta.
