Iranion oil cutoff: reduced petroleum supplies and inadequate US Government response

Technical Report · Thu Sep 13 00:00:00 EDT 1979

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5778498· OSTI ID:5778498

The Iranian oil interruption (December 1978 to March 1979) had varied effects on US oil companies, and the Department of Energy was ill-prepared to keep informed of the situation and to deal with its effects. The US supply of crude oil during the first 4 months of 1979 was reduced by 600,000 to 700,000 barrels a day compared to the average daily supply in 1978. This contributed to companies not increasing their production of gasoline and other petroleum products. GAO found no evidence that the oil companies created the US crude oil shortage; however, situations developed as a result of, or at about the same time as, the Iranian shortfall which could have been used by the companies to their advantage. GAO feels that DOE needs to be better prepared for dealing with energy shortages. As a result, the Secretary of Energy should develop: a comprehensive plan for dealing with shortages; a system for better identifying demand and consumption of petroleum products; and a reliable system for gathering and publishing accurate, complete, and timely energy data.

• Research Organization: General Accounting Office, Washington, DC (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5778498
• Report Number(s): EMD-79-97
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
021000 -- Petroleum-- Legislation & Regulations
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
293000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Policy
Legislation
& Regulation
294002* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Petroleum
ASIA
DATA
DATA COMPILATION
DATA FORMS
EMERGENCY PLANS
ENERGY SHORTAGES
ENERGY SOURCES
ENERGY SUPPLIES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
IMPORTS
INDUSTRY
INFORMATION
IRAN
MIDDLE EAST
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PLANNING
PRODUCTION
SAFETY
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
TABLES
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA