James E. Akins - Director of Fuels and Energy at The U.S. State Department

Director of Fuels and Energy At The U.S. State Department

In 1971 after Libya demanded an increase of 40 cents a barrel, and the oil companies offered only a nickel, Akins took Libya's side. After the 40-cent price rise went through, it was later seen as an important step in the development of OPEC. After attending a meeting of Arab OPEC oil producers in May 1972 in Algiers, where he confirmed that they were eager to take advantage of the increasing dependence on the crude they pumped of the U.S. and other Western countries, Akins correctly predicted a coming oil embargo, saying that OPEC countries could not spend as much money as they were getting for their oil, and had realized that "oil in the ground is as good as oil in the bank." In an influential article in the journal Foreign Affairs in April 1973, Akins correctly predicted that world oil consumption for the next 12 years would exceed that of all previous human history, and warned that the loss of production from any two Middle Eastern countries would push prices from $3 a barrel to more than $5. In fact, they reached $39.50. Akins was promoted from director of fuels and energy at the U.S. State Department to U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia in September, 1973, one month before the 1973 Oil Crisis began.