Drill Rigs and Battleships Are the Answer! (But What Was the Question?) Oil Efficiency, Economic Rationality, and Security

The authors contend that energy efficiency is a far more cost-effective and reliable method for reducing oil dependence than drilling in frontier areas or investing in synthetic fuels. They provide data showing that from 1973 to 1986, efficiency gains significantly outperformed supply expansions in terms of effective energy supply. The paper highlights the transportation sector, particularly light-vehicle efficiency, as the most critical area for potential savings, suggesting that higher CAFE standards could save billions of barrels of oil. It also examines savings in buildings, industry, and utilities, arguing that these 'negabarrels' are cheaper to produce than extracting new oil. Finally, the authors link energy efficiency to broader national security goals, including the mitigation of climate change, the reduction of nuclear proliferation, and the decrease of geopolitical volatility in the Middle East.

• Between 1973 and 1986, energy efficiency improvements provided the vast majority of the increase in effective primary energy supply in the U.S., far outpacing nuclear and coal expansions.
• The U.S. transportation sector is the largest consumer of oil, and modest efficiency gains in light vehicles could eliminate significant imports. A 1-mpg fleet gain for passenger cars and light trucks is roughly equivalent to the total 1985 U.S. imports from the Gulf.
• The Reagan administration's rollback of 1986-1988 new car efficiency standards from 27.5 to 26 mpg resulted in an increase in crude oil imports of approximately 295,300 barrels per day, which the authors equate to the average output of a 3.23 billion-barrel reserve extracted over 30 years.
• Technical potential for oil savings by the year 2000 is estimated at 7.6-11.6 q/y, which represents 24-36 percent of total 1986 oil use. The weighted-average cost for these measures is estimated to be under $10 per barrel.
• Investments in new power plants have largely failed to displace oil and may actually retard oil displacement by diverting resources away from more effective efficiency measures.
• The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is identified as a major security vulnerability, as it is considered indefensible and susceptible to disruption by small-scale terrorism.
• Energy efficiency is presented as a tool to address multiple global security threats, including CO2 emissions and nuclear proliferation, by reducing the need for civilian nuclear power programs that provide cover for bomb programs.

APA

Lovins, A. B., & Lovins, L. H. (n.d.). Drill Rigs and Battleships Are the Answer! (But What Was the Question?) Oil Efficiency, Economic Rationality, and Security. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_S91-15_DrillRigsBattleships.pdf

Chicago

Lovins, Amory B., and L. Hunter Lovins. Drill Rigs and Battleships Are the Answer! (But What Was the Question?) Oil Efficiency, Economic Rationality, and Security. RMI, n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_S91-15_DrillRigsBattleships.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lovins |first1=Amory B. |last2=Lovins |first2=L. Hunter |title=Drill Rigs and Battleships Are the Answer! (But What Was the Question?) Oil Efficiency, Economic Rationality, and Security |publisher=RMI |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_S91-15_DrillRigsBattleships.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lovinsnddrill, author = {Lovins, Amory B. and Lovins, L. Hunter}, title = {{Drill Rigs and Battleships Are the Answer! (But What Was the Question?) Oil Efficiency, Economic Rationality, and Security}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_S91-15_DrillRigsBattleships.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }