ABSTRACT
The year 1979 was one of grievous setbacks for the future security of the oil supply of the Western world, its economic and financial prospects, its strategic capabilities, and its political stability. A temporary decline in world oil production led to apprehensions by importing countries and their oil companies that they might be unable to cover their future needs. Oil companies no longer perform an effective independent role as a buffer in the relationship between oil-producing and oil-importing countries. The medium-term prospects for the security and availability of oil and for the economic and political stability and strategic security of the Western world are indeed disturbing. Restrictions on destinations in many Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) export contracts and the proliferation of direct oil supply deals between the governments of importing countries and OPEC national oil companies might deprive the importers of the necessary flexibility for the diversions of oil shipments.
