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Energy Security in the 1990s

By Daniel Yergin
Fall 1988
Article Summary and Author Biography

Currently, oil prices are low and supplies plentiful. But the key to understanding energy policy (in which, for the USA, oil is central), is uncertainty. Analyzes the 'margin of security in supplies', recommending that US energy policy should (1) slow the growth of oil imports (2) strengthen the domestic oil and gas industry (3) increase natural gas use (4) promote energy efficiency (5) support energy R&D (6) fortify the strategic reserve to 100 days (7) renew the US commitment to the International Energy Agency (8) ensure competitive markets.

Daniel Yergin is president of Cambridge Energy Research Associates. He is the author of the forthcoming Prize of the Venture: Oil, Money, and Power. He was co-editor of Energy Future: Report of the Energy Project at the Harvard Business School and senior author of Global Insecurity: A Strategy for Energy and Economic Renewal.

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