ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a case study of the International Energy Program, a muiti-lateral agreement among twenty-one Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries including the United States. The International Energy Program relies on the premise that centralized management of the international oil market can better cope with disruptions than decentralized trading in the marketplace. The domestic oil allocation program aspires to transfer the capital gains earned from domestic production and from any rigidity in the price clauses of international oil purchase contracts during supply disruptions. The Standby Mandatory International Oil Allocation implements the president's authorization to meet US obligations under the International Energy Program. The International Energy Program created the International Energy Agency to implement the agreement. The differential treatment of OECD countries created tensions in the Western alliance and ultimately influenced the policy approaches included in the program.
