ABSTRACT
The world oil industry has many years of unprecedented expansion. The prolific oil reserves offer an assurance of adequate supplies to meet mounting requirements in the future, but pose serious difficulties. Foremost among the critical factors bearing on world oil operations are the upsurge of nationalism and the urgency for economic advance in underdeveloped areas. The world oil trade plays a central role in the economic life of many nations. A fact of overriding importance in the current oil environment is the large size and relatively low cost of reserves discovered in a few Middle East countries. International oil companies because or their geographically diverse production interests would not all benefit equally from cheap Middle East oil. The pressure rapidly to expand output of crude oil is particularly acute for "newcomer" companies. The pressure of surplus on various markets is further aggravated by the reappearance of Soviet oil as an important factor in international trade.
