National Security and the Rate of Leasing of Federal Lands

摘要

This report is concerned with the national security problem associated with this country's heavy dependence on imported oil, and with the extent to which accelerated leasing of federal lands, chiefly offshore and in Alaska, may moderate that problem. Three circumstances come together to make this study timely: (1) increased instability in the Middle East and growing awareness of our national security stake in the region; (2) the beginnings of a US synthetic fuels industry, which promises substantial and growing capacity by the year 2000; and (3) the election of a new administration devoted to expansion of the domestic oil industry and enhancement of national security by that and other means. By speeding up the leasing of federal lands, where the bulk of remaining domestic oil and gas is to be found, the time-distribution of domestic production can be shifted toward the present and to some extent close the gap in security that otherwise will exist until a sufficiently large and growing synthetic fuels industry can be put in place. The extent to which conventional domestic production can be increased by the year 2000 by means of a feasible program of accelerated leasing is estimated.