The Nation - News from Oct. 5, 1986

American oil reserves, already shrinking, will plunge by 1990 to their lowest levels since shortly after World War II at the current rate of drilling, a Library of Congress study showed. The study said domestic oil reserves will fall from 28.4 billion barrels in 1985 to 23.2 billion in 1995. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Tex.), who requested the study, called the estimates conservative and urged the imposition of an oil import fee to stabilize the industry after this year’s dramatic drop in prices. The study showed that the most significant declines in reserves will occur in the older oil producing areas of the western part of the United States--Texas, the Gulf Coast and the mid-continent.