Who Needs Big Oil Companies Anyway?
The big oil companies are indeed in deepening trouble, including nationalizations abroad. (“Why you should worry about Big Oil,” Cover Story, May 15). But why should the average citizen be concerned? Won’t the oil continue to flow to consumers even if the present companies fade away? You postulate that “private oil companies are better than national companies at getting the best results.” They may be more efficient in the narrow sense of oil operations and more eager to lock in new fields. But recall their manipulation of prices, their collaboration with speculators in the futures markets, and their reluctance to help develop alternative sources of energy. If oil companies can’t survive, their refining facilities could well be turned into regulated public utilities, much like electric power and telephone services. As for the fear that foreign national oil companies — or their OPEC-type cartels — may manipulate the supply to raise prices, the record shows that the Big Oil companies se
