Oil and OPEC: An Analysis of United States Oil Dependency and the Changing Face of OPEC.

Throughout the twentieth century, major oil companies have been the object of intense scrutiny, suspicion, and mistrust. In their heyday before World War II, they controlled over 90 percent of the world oil production. As the Second World War was coming to an end, it became clear that the United States would not longer continue to be a major exporter of oil and that the Middle East would be called upon to meet the rising needs of the world. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Middle Eastern oil-producing countries OPEC wrested more power from the major Western companies either through sweeping new agreements or through nationalization movements. Oil power catapulted these Third World countries into the international arena and into positions of great wealth and influence. Just as oil has enabled nations to accumulate wealth and power, it has also proved that it is a prize that can be overvalued and can lead to a countrys demise. Oil imports are impairing or threaten to impair the national security of the United States. The U.S. finds itself more vulnerable to political or economic blackmail because of its reliance on foreign oil supplies.