The Foreign Service Journal, December 2003

T HIRTY YEARS AFTER THE 1973 A RAB BOYCOTT REVOLUTIONIZED THE GLOBAL ENERGY MAP , OIL IS STILL THE MAIN FOCUS OF CONCERN . B Y A MY M YERS J AFFE AND J ILLENE C ONNORS D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 23 F O C U S O N W O R L D E N E R G Y n Oct. 17, 1973, the Arab oil boycott and unprecedented quadrupling of oil prices revolutionized the global energy map. Now, 30 years later, oil remains a continuing worry for the U.S. and the international economy. The unavoidable reality is that oil accounts for 40 percent of the energy that powers America’s $10.5 trillion economy and, short of a technological revolution that is not yet in sight, will continue to play a decisive role for the foreseeable future. In recent years, the international community has faced the most difficult energy market it has seen in two O Josh Dorman I NTERNATIONAL O IL S UPPLY : H OW V ULNERABLE A RE W E ?