The Electric Power Research Institute represents private and public utilities - Energy Emerging Catalyst for Conflict - Friday Flashes May 5

Sep 21, 2026

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Energy future briefing describes how resource needs drive geopolitical conflict, illustrating U.S.-Japan involvement in World War II through Japan’s oil dependency, Allied asset freezes, and embargo-driven pressure. It argues that emerging competition for oil and gas, especially Persian Gulf supply, increases instability. It further outlines military consequences of energy shifts, including concerns about Soviet crude imports and limited defenses of Gulf states. The piece concludes that the U.S. should provide minimum military support to Persian Gulf nations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Energy—Emerging Catalyst for Conflict

Friday Flashes—May 5

Energy—Oil—Most Vital Resource

Military Consequences

Dangerous Military Consequences in Energy Situation

The Commonwealth # "THE ELECTRICITY FUTURE:WHATCAN YOU BELIEVE?” The Electric Power Research Institute represents private and public utilities with 85 percent ofthe total U.S.electrical generating capacity.Dr.Starr joined the Institute after a 20 year industrialcareer,including serving as vice president of Rockwell International and president of its AtomicInternational Division.He was also dean of the UCLA School of Engineering and AppliedSciences from 1967 until January 1,1973 when he became president of the Institute.Tickets—$7 at the door.BARTON W.SHACKELFORD,Quarterly Chairman # Energy—Emerging Catalyst for Conflict FRIDAY FLASHES—MAY 5 From Address by History points out many of the differentcauses for conflict.There is one in particu-lar that holds a lesson for us today.It canbe illustrated by the sequence of eventsthat plunged the United States into WorldWar II,and how the Japanese triggeredthis particular involvement. If you recall,the Japanese invadedChina in somewhat real force in about1937.Because the Chinese were poorlyequipped and divided by internal conflict,the Japanese expected a very quickvictory.The war,however,dragged on forseveral years,draining manpower andequipment.At the same time,the Friday,May 19,Noon The Hon.John C.StetsonSecretary of the Air Force Sheraton Palace HotelGold Ballroom DR.CHAUNCEY STARR Vice ChairmanElectric Power Research Institute Japanese were experiencing increasingeconomic pressure from the allies.Thecritical pressure evolved about 1941.Japan was importing about 88 percent ofits peacetime oil consumption and had re-serves for about 18 months of full wartimeusage.At that time,the U.S.took an ac-tion to freeze Japanese assets in this coun-try and to stop American oil shipments toJapan.These same actions were dupli-cated by Churchill in Great Britain,andshortly thereafter,the Dutch governmentfollowed. Need for Resources The Japanese perceived that SoutheastAsia was vulnerable.Conquest of thatarea would do more than capture the oil ofthe Dutch East Indies,it could also denyto the allies many vital resources.So,with # "U.S.Must Provide Military to Persian Gulf Countries" (Conined jrom preceding page) the allies fighting in Europe,only the U.S.could pose a genuine obstacle to Japan'sambition.And,if the U.S.could be some-howe surprised in a very quick attack,Japan could seize the oil and finish the warin China before the U.S.could seriouslychallenge her again. The point is that the attack on PearlHarbor was generated by Japan's need forresources.And that lesson is relevant to-day.History generally performs encores,whether or not the original act was well-received.It is not surprising that similarforces are at work in the world today.Thepotential for conflict over resources stillexists and is likely to increase. Oil—Most Vital Resource Of all the world's resources,oil and gasprobably are the most vital and will gen-erate the most competition for control. As recently as ten years ago,the U.S.produced 80 percent of our oil needs andwe were importing only 2.5 million barrelsper day.Today,we are importing almostone-half of our needs and we're importing9 million barrels per day.About 40 percentof these imports come from the PersianGulf area. I think it is even more important torealize the dependency that Japan andEurope have on Middle East oil.Europeobtains two-thirds of its oil from the Mid- | OFFICERS OF THE CLUB
The Commonwealth
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Published every Monday by the
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Commonwealth Club of California
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FAQs

How does the document connect energy resources to conflict?

It explains that Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor was driven by a need for resources, specifically oil, and that similar forces can operate in today’s world.

Why is oil and gas presented as the most vital resource?

The document states that oil and gas will generate the most competition for control because major economies depend heavily on Middle East supply.

What military action does the document suggest for the Persian Gulf nations?

It says the U.S. should provide at least minimum military support, including the recommendation to sell F-15 aircraft to Saudi Arabia to strengthen defenses.

Sep 21, 2026

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