January: OPEC goes to two-tier pricing (Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates use $12.09 per barrel and other OPEC countries use $12.70per barrel). May: Fifty percent of Saudi Arabia's production is halted briefly due to fire damage to separation facility in Abqaiq field. Prices increase slightly. July: OPEC prices reunified at $12.70 per barrel as Saudi Arabia and UAE fall into line, then official price rises to $13.66 per barrel. October 23: Dry dock complex opens at Bahrain; only facility between Portugal and Singapore capable of servicing VLCCs. 1978 January: Student protests against government of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, begin, touching off a wave of political unrest and violent clashes between police and demonstrators. Throughout the year increasing anti-Shah activities are led by Muslim fundamentalists seeking to establish a Muslim state. March: Amoco Cadiz tanker runs aground off the coast of France, spilling of crude oil. (Largest crude spill to date.) June Iran and Saudi Arabia block efforts of OPEC price hawks to fix the price of OPEC oil in a currency more stable than the U.S. dollar. Say world economy cannot support associated price increases. Are accused by hawks of being U.S. agents. September: Shah puts Iran under military rule. Muslim leader Noori arrested in crackdown of opposition groups. October: Iranian strikes; departure of foreign technicians. Pipeline fire drops Iraqi production from 600,000 to . November: Iranian oil production starts dropping. December: Iranian production hits in mid-December; 500,000 on December 27, a 27-year low. OPEC production rises 1.6 MMBD over two months due to increased Saudi production. December 17: OPEC decides on a 14.5 percent price increase for 1979, to be implemented quarterly. 1979 January: First emergency crude oil Buy-Sell Program allocations. January 16: Shah leaves Iran on vacation, never to return. Bakhtiar government established by the Shah to preside until unrest subsides. January 20: Saudi Arabia announces drastic cut in first-quarter production. 9.5 MMBD ceiling imposed. Although actual cuts never reach announced levels, spot prices of Middle East light crudes rise 36 percent. January 20: One million Iranians march in Tehran in a show of support for the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini, fundamentalist Muslim leader. February 12: Bakhtiar resigns as prime minister of Iran after losing support of the military. March 5: Iran resumes petroleum exports. Spring: Gasoline shortage/world oil glut. March 26: OPEC makes full 14.5 percent price increase for 1979 effective on April 1. Marker