This paper presents an overview of United States and world petroleum, natural gas, and natural gas liquids presumed recoverable but as‐yet undiscovered resources and suggests that the depletion of these fuels may not occur as quickly as frequently predicted. the paper points out that the construction of a synthetic fuels industry will be very costly and will provide only a small amount of increased energy independence. the fear is expressed that haste in accepting a specific synfuels process on the basis of present technology may serve to forestall the development of a better technology in order to gain better understandings of the various technologies, more information on costs and the essential but as yet unknown information on environmental and socioeconomic effects of large scale plants.
Historical trends in U.S. coal production, transportation and utilization and their causes are analyzed. The changing structure of the coal industry and its possible future direction, as it is driven by the effects of the oil embargo and world oil prices, are examined. National policies in the United States to increase coal use from indigenous sources in order to diversify and increase reliability of supply raise questions as to availability of coal supply and potential markets. Possible constraints on U.S. coal production, transportation, and utilization are appraised and it is concluded that increased coal consumption is "demand constrained." The causes and potential means of removal of these limitations are examined.
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