What was the average price of oil at the well head in the United States in 1968?

What was the average price of oil at the well head in the United States in 1968?

• A. $1.50
• B. $3.50
• C. $2.94
• D. $4.75

Answer: (C)

At the well head means the price that producers receive for crude oil right at the extraction point, before any refining, transportation, or taxes. In 1968 the U.S. crude market priced barrels in the vicinity of three dollars per barrel at the well head, with the historical average landing around $2.94. This nominal figure reflects the value of the raw commodity to producers, not what consumers paid at the pump after refining and distribution. The other numbers stray from this wellhead-era benchmark—one sits notably below, another above the typical range for that year—so the $2.94 figure best matches the historical price producers were getting in 1968.

At the well head means the price that producers receive for crude oil right at the extraction point, before any refining, transportation, or taxes. In 1968 the U.S. crude market priced barrels in the vicinity of three dollars per barrel at the well head, with the historical average landing around $2.94. This nominal figure reflects the value of the raw commodity to producers, not what consumers paid at the pump after refining and distribution. The other numbers stray from this wellhead-era benchmark—one sits notably below, another above the typical range for that year—so the $2.94 figure best matches the historical price producers were getting in 1968.