Is an “Oil Shockwave” America’s Biggest Energy Threat?

War games have long been used to prepare the military for battle, but what about the national threat of a global energy crisis? According to an advocacy group called Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), Middle East turmoil, a shaky national economy, and heavy dependence on foreign oil have combined to make America’s energy supply “dangerously vulnerable.”

SAFE recently held “Oil Shockwave,” a simulation of what could happen if a terrorist attack on major Saudi Arabian oil fields triggered oil shortages, military action, and a global spike in energy prices. The exercise brought together former top government and military officials, who were given roles on a mock National Security Committee, and charged with leading the country out of the ensuing chaos. energyNOW! anchor Thalia Assuras observed the war game to see how the United States and global energy markets could respond on a terrorist attack on Saudi Arabian oil fields.

The crisis scenario begins with an Al-Qaeda attack on the world’s largest oil processing plant, which cripples Saudi Arabia’s petroleum production and drives oil prices to $173 a barrel. The situation escalates when Bahraini naval vessels, with support from the U.S. Navy, intercept and fire upon Iranian boats suspected of involvement in the attack. A ripple effect ensues, with Iran and Venezuela teaming to jointly cut OPEC production by 15 percent, which sends oil skyrocketing to $200 a barrel. America soon faces $6 a gallon gasoline, and tough energy choices.

While this type of energy crisis is unprecedented, it’s not unrealistic. “I would rate the scenario as pretty darn realistic,” said John Negroponte, former Director of National Intelligence.

Simulation participants agreed the United States is extremely vulnerable to a potential Middle East energy crisis but potential solutions abound. “This notion that you can either be green or you can be black oil is crazy,” said Stephen Hadley, former National Security Advisor. “We want to go to alternative energy, but everybody knows they’re going to take time to develop. So it is always, in this case, ‘all of the above.”

Work to transition the U.S. energy industry may have begun, and Shockwave participants said they have faith America can develop new energy sources and innovations to transition away from dependence on foreign oil, but time is running short. “We should be ringing the alarm bells and the sirens, to drive the political leadership to make some decisions to get on with the future, because we are more vulnerable than most people know,” said John Hofmeister, former president of Shell Oil.

Energy Collective

4 Comments on "Is an “Oil Shockwave” America’s Biggest Energy Threat?"

DC on Wed, 20th Jul 2011 10:51 am 



Since amerikans are the best financed and most violent group of terrorists on the planet, bar none, I wonder why this group didnt simply present a much more plausible scenario.

The US attempts to occupy most of the worlds oil-fields and facilities in order to prop up its crumbling empire. Things go downhill form there.

The end.

armageddon51 on Wed, 20th Jul 2011 12:52 pm 



That make me laugh and depressed, so the solution is still “Drill Baby Drill” ! Eventually (magically) we`ll move on to green alternatives BUT for now lets keep doing what we have been doing all along. God forbid to force the Americans to conserve the stuff by higher taxes like in Europe, because it`s antidemocratic and socialist. So solution, basically we`ll dig even more in our own backyard, we have plenty of oil right. Gee why didn’t we tough of that for the last years. Thank M. Shell CEO for your request to remove all environmental and government laws so we can get back to our profit and ensure that the US is hook on oil up to the last drop. That is domestic … and foreign drop of course.

sunweb on Wed, 20th Jul 2011 1:42 pm 



Armageddon51- Look to the middle ages for green alternatives because –

Solar and Wind are not renewable. The energy from solar and from wind is of course renewable but the devices used to capture the energy of the sun and wind is not renewable. Nor are they green or sustainable.

An oak tree is renewable. A horse is renewable. They reproduce themselves. The human-made equipment used to capture solar energy or wind energy is not renewable. There is considerable fossil fuel energy embedded in this equipment. The many components used in devices to capture solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy and biomass energy – aluminum, glass, copper, rare metals, petroleum in many forms to name a few – are fossil fuel dependent.

Wind used by sailing ships and old style “dutch” wind machines is renewable and sustainable.
From: Energy in the Real World with pictures of proof.
http://sunweber.blogspot.com/2011/01/energy-in-real-world.html

We will do anything and everything to maintain our present personal level of energy use and the comfort it affords us. We will do anything and everything to the earth, to other people and even to ourselves to continue on this path. And if we don’t have the energy level we see others have, we will do anything and everything to the earth, to other people and even to ourselves to attain that level. The proof of this assertion is simple; we are doing it.
From: The Curmudgeon Report
http://sunweber.blogspot.com/2011/02/curmudgeon-report.html

Ian Cooper on Wed, 20th Jul 2011 3:46 pm 



I loved the guy who claimed that the US could just magically bring oil production back up to its peak level, presumably by a combination of reopening old fields and drilling everywhere else, LOL. The Hubbert Peak is still beyond the comprehension of these folks.

In short, with bozos like these in authority, we’re screwed.