Petroleum as a Strategic Center of Gravity

Abstract

Petroleum engineers geologists and economists forecast no change in the long-term availability of worldwide petroleum supplies. But according to policymakers the increasing worldwide competition for this commodity by countries with emerging economies and the nation's increasing dependence on foreign petroleum imports threaten national security. National policy and strategy over the past 25 years have not been effective in addressing the geopolitical energy environment leaving the United States vulnerable to strategic surprise. Militarily Department of Defense policy delegates Defense Logistics Agency and ultimately Defense Energy Support Center as Executive Agent for petroleum products in support of Unified Command requirements. Current national policy also increases risk to DoD's responsibilities in effectively fueling the force. My research will prove or disprove if petroleum will become a strategic center of gravity and if current policy can adequately protect this resource that threatens national security.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 15, 2006
Accession Number
ADA449222

Entities

People

  • John E. Malapit

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Engineered Resilient Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Business Administration
  • Center Of Gravity
  • Energy Conservation
  • Energy Efficiency
  • Environment
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Fuel Efficiency
  • Governments
  • Interagency Coordination
  • Investments
  • Market Economy
  • National Security
  • Petroleum
  • Petroleum Industry
  • Renewable Energy
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • International Relations and European Studies
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Petroleum Engineering