Part 4, Chapter 21 Summary

U.S. gas rationing ended within 24 hours of Japan's capitulation, and demand exploded. By 1950, oil surpassed coal as the country's premier fuel source. The removal of price controls made crude oil twice as valuable in 1947 as in 1945, providing impetus for new exploration. While it appeared that the U.S. was not yet running out of oil in the ground, there was a shortage of available oil. As it took time to refit refineries for civilian products, and steel was in short supply, politicians declared an energy crisis and resumed investigating rumors of skullduggery and conspiracy on the part of the majors. The oil industry became leading advocates of conservation, while imports grew, exceeding exports in 1948. "Foreign oil" entered the American vocabulary with an ominous ring.

The strategic lessons of World War II were not forgotten, nor were the cooperative projects that...