ABSTRACT
Renewed emphasis must be placed on the long-range actions required to increase US oil security and that of the effective functioning of alliances. The strategic petroleum reserve will surely not be enough for the United States, the lead nation in security agreements. Natural gas imports, overwhelmingly from Canada, and electricity imports, also from Canada, are not regarded in the United States as being in the same category as Middle Eastern or African supplies. The US-Canadian Free Trade Agreement of 1988 may remove lingering doubts about the reliability of Canada as a supplier of oil and gas to the United States. The principal source of US concern about its energy situation lies in the dependence of US allies upon Middle East Gulf sources. Encouragement of oil exploration and production in the United States, but given poor finding rates and high costs per barrel compared to other regions, overseas outside the Gulf may be the most important.
