This ushered in a new era when China used oil exports to obtain the hard currency to buy the equipment and technology needed to modernize its economy.

FORBES: Oil and China

The excited feeling that we are in a new era, which will drive oil prices perpetually higher, sounds a lot like the talk surrounding tech stocks seven years ago.

FORBES: A Shield Against The Next Oil Shock

The museum's facade was being restored - in itself perhaps a reflection of the fact that the oil wealth which has funded a new era of exploration is also helping to fill the coffers of cultural institutions.

BBC: Moscow Diary: The icy frontier