ABSTRACT
The tortuous course of "negotiations" between organization of petroleum exporting countries governments and oil companies was grave news to anyone concerned with the vital requirement of assured supply. The very pace at which agreements" were made and unmade warned of the collapse of the traditional international oil system. In Foreign Affairs for July 1971 appeared an article by Mr. Levy titled "Oil Power." In the brief period since the late summer of 1970, Tripoli, Caracas, Tehran, and then Tripoli again have witnessed unprecedented demands upon the international oil industry by major oil-producing countries, dramatic confrontations with threats to withhold essential oil supplies, and far-reaching "settlements." Europe looked upon Libyan oil as a valuable source of diversification, because of its west-of-Suez location—particularly after the 1967 closing of the Canal; by 1970, about 30 percent of European oil requirements were being met from Libya. The international oil industry functions effectively by virtue of its private competitive strength.
