MINOR S. JAMESON, JR. 193 



Western Hemisphere for vital supplies of petroleum. I agree, however, 

 that a lack of satisfactory information on the special position of petro- 

 leum has been, and continues to be, a deterrent to definitive analysis. 

 The development of more adequate information, necessary for any 

 meaningful economic evaluation, relating to the discovery and devel- 

 opment of petroleum resources may be one of the major problems in 

 the subject under consideration here. 



Much information is available, of course, on petroleum resources, 

 their development and use. Yet the deficiencies are serious in the fund 

 of knowledge and the degree of effort in the field of petroleum eco- 

 nomics. I doubt that any equally significant area of public policy has 

 been subject to as much attention with as little appreciation of the 

 complex of technological, economic, and political factors involved. 

 Economic research has lagged far behind advances in technology. The 

 petroleum industry probably can claim the dubious distinction of pro- 

 viding more basic goods, with less understanding of its economic 

 processes, than any other industry. 



There is a real need for more information and more objective re- 

 search on risk factors in establishing capital values in the form of 

 petroleum resources, where more than $5 billion each year is ex- 

 pended in the unfolding process of maintaining the country's energy 

 resource base through discovery and development of additional petro- 

 leum reserves. Certainly, there may be many occupations as risky as 

 petroleum exploration. But I question if there are any involving as 

 large recurring expenditures of capital with as important an influence 

 on the national economy. 



Even if complete information were available, I would find it diffi- 

 cult to consider the problems of natural resources within any limited 

 definitions of conservation, or to isolate the economic issues. In the 

 case of petroleum, the geologist seeks to broaden the horizon for po- 

 tential producing provinces; the engineer seeks to advance the tech- 

 nology of recovering oil and gas from their underground reservoirs; 

 the lawyer is concerned with correlative rights and jurisdictional ques- 

 tions; the economist is concerned with possible maldistribution of 

 capital in petroleum development through differential treatment; the 

 military is concerned with a mobilization base of adequate oil for 

 emergencies; while public officials formulate and administer petroleum 



