Oil production globally has been growing over the last 50 years, apart from a drop in the early 70s and again in the early 80s after oil prices spiked upwards causing recessions. This indicates the historical sensitivity of oil consumption to oil price. OPEC production is seen as the swing producer - these producers capture spare demand and decrease production if oversupply drives prices down. The end 2008 recession is also leading to reduced supply from OPEC as they cut production to support prices that dropped to $34/bbl mid December 2008. 

Global Oil Production in Different Categories of Country - 1965 to present

Crude Oil Price: OPEC and Middle East production dropped from 1980 until 1985 as OPEC attemped to support oil prices - however, in 1986, Saudi Arabia flooded the market and drove prices down to below $8/bbl for a few week in an attempt to curtain non OPEC developments and production. It was some 3-4 years before prices started to recover, but in US real terms, prices are still well below the levels seen in 1980 and at approximately the late 1970s level. In addition, GDP and industry is far less reliant on oil - oil constitutes far proportionally within the overall GDP of the USA - the US GDP has also grown significantly since the early 1980s - mianly service sector growth.  

Oil Price - since 1967 to end 2007