Feasibility of Alternative Fuels

The proposed study will examine the feasibility of the widespread use of alternative fuels for transportation purposes in the United States, with an emphasis on the use of liquid natural gas for such purposes. Feasibility will be assessed within the contexts of technology, economics, environmental protection, and consumer acceptance.

A heavy dependence on foreign sources for transportation fuels continues to characterize an important component of the supply side of the American energy equation. Further, American reliance on foreign sources for transportation fuels is expected to continue to increase as long as crude oil remains the dominant source of transportation fuels in the United States. Additionally, environmental concerns are expected to be manifested in future demands for a curtailment of the use of crude oil based transportation fuels. The successful introduction of the use of alternative fuels for transportation purposes is likely to be heavily dependent up consumer acceptance. Thus, such factors as the cost of use of an alternative fuel and the performance characteristics of such fuel, each in comparison to crude oilbased fuels, will likely become important variables.

Battery stored electrical energy, synthetic fuel derived from coal, and liquid natural gas (LNG) are potential substitutes

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consumption. Petroleum accounts for 42 percent of total United States energy consumption. United States production of petroleum accounts for only 60 percent of the country's petroleum consumption. Net petroleum imports, therefore, account for 15.2 percent of total United States energy consumption, and 40 percent of United States petroleum consumption. Pricing, as opposed to product differentiation, has provided the basis for the competitive strategy of American oil companies. The rapid and significant increase in the world price for crude oil which followed Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in the summer of 1990, coupled with the massive increase in profits reported by the major integrated oil companies for the fourth quarter of 1990, in the words of Value Line (1991, p. 401), "aroused journalistic (and consumer) concern about excess profits." The oil companies and their apologists, both within and external to the industry, of course, were quick to deny any connection with higher prices and higher profits. Over the longterm, price changes in crude oil are eventually reflected in consumer prices. It is widely suspected, however, that oil companies typically anticipate crude oil price increases, and often factor such anticipated
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Value Line, United Additionally, Information Administration, Questions Hypotheses, GAS Statement/Purpose, Findings Findings, Data Collection, Castanias Johnson, crude oil, National Petroleum, Economics Statistics, alternative fuels, liquid natural gas, energy sources, natural gas, liquid natural, transportation fuels, transportation fuel, energy consumption, oil companies, transportation purposes, gas transportation fuel, widespread liquid natural, natural gas transportation, fuels transportation purposes,
Approximate Word count = 1634
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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