1. If present depletion policies are continued then gas supplies from indigenous gas reserves in Western Europe will decline before the end of this century. On the basis of present knowledge it appears unlikely that imports of gas will be available on the required scale at that time. Various studies have therefore argued that production from indigenous gas reservoirs should be limited. See, for example, B. de Vries and J. Kommandeur, ‘Gas for Western Europe: How Much for How Long?’, Energy Policy, vol. 3, no. 1 (Mar 1975) pp. 24–37.
2. For an analysis of the effects of Federal regulation of natural gas prices, see P. W. Macavoy and R. S. Pindyck, The Economics of the Natural Gas Shortage (1960–1980) (Amsterdam/New York: North-Holland/American Elsevier, 1975).
3. See E. W. Erickson and R. M. Spann, ‘The US Petroleum Industry’, in E. W. Erickson and L. Waverman (eds.), The Energy Question, vol. 2, North America (University of Toronto Press, 1974).
4. President Carter’s National Energy Plan (Washington: Executive Office of the President, 29 Apr 1977) planned to reverse this trend by using various tax measures to raise the prices of gas and oil to industrial users and utilities in order to stimulate the demand for coal and other alternative fuels. The Plan also contained regulatory provisions to prohibit the burning of oil and natural gas in new utility and industrial boilers. See Chapter 9, Section 9.4.
5. See the discussion of this issue by C. Robinson, ‘The Depletion of Energy Resources’, in D. W. Pearce (ed.), The Economics of Natural Resource Depletion (London: Macmillan, 1975) p. 25.