ABSTRACT
The imposition of mandatory federal import controls on oil in 1959 focused public attention on the weakening markets, the unused capacity, and the high relative costs of the domestic oil industry. Even before that event, the application of production controls in the United States and their relation to conservation policy had frequently been called into question; the growing volume of this criticism, from sources both within and without the petroleum industry, indicates a need for constructive economic analysis and evaluation of petroleum conservation.
