An oil embargo is an economic situation wherein entities engage in an embargo to limit the transport of petroleum to or from an area, in order to exact some desired outcome. One commentator states, "[a]n oil embargo is not a common commercial practice; it is a tool of political blackmail, meant to force those at whom it is aimed, into some action they would otherwise not be willing to take".^[1]

Notable examples of international oil embargoes include:

• Oil embargo (Sino-Japanese War), 1941–1945
• 1967 Oil Embargo
• 1973 oil crisis
• 1979 energy crisis
• Embargo against Iran, 2012–2016