Walter Russell Mead writes that “few subjects matter as much as oil, the Persian Gulf and American foreign policy. But few subjects are less well understood.”

With OPEC flexing its muscles, the United States needs to make energy security a priority once again. In this Washington Post op-ed, Sebastian Mallaby argues that the United States ought to be boosting cooperation with fellow oil-consuming nations, particularly China. He advocates a proposal by Samuel Berger to form a multilateral green energy fund, in which China might invest some of the huge wealth created by its trade surpluses.

As Libya was in the throes of civil war, the International Energy Agency coordinated the release of emergency oil reserves for the third time in its history. CFR Fellow Blake Clayton analyzes the economic, political, and logistical dimensions of this episode, drawing lessons for future energy interventions.

Efforts by the United States and EU to sanction Iran's oil exports have prompted worries about a disruption of global oil markets. Robert McNally outlines scenarios in which rising tensions could affect the price of oil and potential policy responses.

What is energy security? On April 12-13, the Council on Foreign Relations convened academics, policymakers, and industry experts to assess the security implications of the way the world produces and consumes oil and natural gas. The workshop aimed to explore important issues at the intersection of oil, gas, and national security, and identify areas for future research. The first day focused on assessing the state of knowledge on energy and security, while the second explored U.S. policy options going forward. This summary report presents a broad agenda for energy security research that emerged from the meeting.

This report argues that Angola deserves priority attention in the formulation of U.S. foreign, national security, and economic policies, particularly in the design of policy toward Africa. This report is also available in Portuguese.

The vice chairman of Chevron Corporation analyzes the prospects for global oil production over the next few decades.

Cfr.org's Michael Moran interviews Senior Fellow Rachel Bronson on her new book, "Thicker Than Oil: America's Uneasy Relationship with Saudi Arabia."

As Cuba drills its first offshore oil well, the United States should anticipate the possibility of an oil spill, implementing policies that would help both countries stem and clean up a spill in a way that is minimally disruptive to the United States' Cuba strategy.

National Security Advisor Tom Donilon spoke at the launch of Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy on April 24, 2013. He discussed the effects of U.S energy policy on the economy, environment, international relations, and national security.