By the mid-1980s there was a worldwide oil glut, a serious surplus of crude oil, with the world price of oil dropping from over US$35 per barrel to below $10. The glut began in the early 1980s as a result of slowed economic activity in industrial countries (due to the crises of the 1970s, especially in 1973 and 1979) and the energy conservation spurred by high fuel prices. "Time Magazine" stated, "the world temporarily floats in a glut of oil." By 1993, when Klein took office, Alberta's debt had reached C$23 billion. Despite lower oil prices, Alberta was largely shielded from the early 1990s recession.