(Radio Iowa) – The words “oil crisis” bring the 1970s to mind for many of us, but a University of Iowa energy historian says America is in another oil crisis right now. U-I Professor Tyler Priest, who teaches a course on U-S Energy Policy, says another echo from that bygone era is the renewed call for a federal windfall profits tax on oil companies. Priest says such a tax was also passed by Congress late in the Carter Administration — in 1980 — and it didn’t work.
Global oil companies are expected to report their profits this week. U-S Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, has introduced the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act to address profits that are tied to the war in Iran. Priest was asked if such a tax would be effective this time around.
Back in the ’70s, conflicts and production cuts in the Middle East led to a quadrupling of petroleum prices, double-digit inflation, widespread gas shortages, and long lines at gas stations. Priest is fearful about where things are headed now, as the conflict in Iran approaches its fifth month.
During a Radio Iowa interview in May, Priest predicted it could be as late as December before prices at the pump would be back down to where they were before hostilities between the U-S and Iran started in late February. Priest says he’s sticking by the prediction.
Priest’s latest book, “Offshore Oildom,” examines the political significance and controversies over U.S. offshore oil and gas extraction.
