Oil and OPEC: An analysis of United States oil dependency and the changing face of OPEC. Study project

Technical Report · Wed Apr 15 04:00:00 EDT 1992

OSTI ID:7032910

Simmons, J J

Throughout the twentieth century, major oil companies have been the object of intense scrutiny, suspicion, and mistrust. In their heyday before World War II, they controlled over 90 percent of the world oil production. As the Second World War was coming to an end, it became clear that the United States would not longer continue to be a major exporter of oil and that the Middle East would be called upon to meet the rising needs of the world. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Middle Eastern oil-producing countries (OPEC) wrested more power from the major Western companies either through sweeping new agreements or through nationalization movements. Oil power catapulted these Third World countries into the international arena and into positions of great wealth and influence. Just as oil has enabled nations to accumulate wealth and power, it has also proved that it is a prize that can be overvalued and can lead to a country's demise. Oil imports are impairing or threaten to impair the national security of the United States. The U.S. finds itself more vulnerable to political or economic blackmail because of its reliance on foreign oil supplies.

• Research Organization: Army War Coll., Carlisle Barracks, PA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 7032910
• Report Number(s): AD-A-251400/8/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020700* -- Petroleum-- Economics
Industrial
& Business Aspects
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
294002 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Petroleum
AGREEMENTS
CORRELATIONS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ECONOMIC IMPACT
ECONOMICS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENERGY SUPPLIES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
IMPORTS
INDUSTRY
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
MIDDLE EAST
NATIONAL SECURITY
NORTH AMERICA
OIL-EXPORTING COUNTRIES
OPEC
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
POLITICAL ASPECTS
POWER
PRODUCTION
SECURITY
USA