The Oil Import Problem

INTRODUCTION Petroleum plays a vital role In our modern industrial society, in our defense and in the everyday life of the consuming public, consequently few considerations can be more important that the need to assure ourselves that an adequate and constant supply of oil is maintained. Although the petroleum industry in America has been threatened by numerous oil shortages in the past, it has always been able to meet the situation and achieve greater levels of output. However, several recent estimates indicate that our present known supply may be exhausted in about a decade and thus we are again confronted with the long run problem of an impending oil shortage. In view of this prediction, the present problem facing the petroleum industry is somewhat unique, for within the last few years, the United States has found itself with domestic oil production in excess of its needs. Demand can be adequately filled by domestic production, yet there is a rising trend of crude oil imports. However, since we may be forced to rely on imports for future oil requirements, the difficulty cannot be solved by simply eliminating them