Is the world running out of oil?

[Joel Bainerman]

When it comes to the subject of whether the world is running out of oil- just type in the following phrase into any search engine and see how many mainstream news outlets have reported on the subject of "peak oil" in the past six months.

No longer are stories on the subject found on alternative/conspiracy web sites. The mainstream is now reporting on the problem.

Yet surprisingly- the governing class doesn't seem to be paying attention.

Is There Really A Shortage of Oil In The World?

Is the world really running out of oil?

No, but it is most definitely running out of cheap oil.

After surveying the views of the world's leading experts in the field of monitoring and tabulating the world's petroleum supplies- the magnitude of the problem and the complexity of the solution (if there are indeed solutions to this dilemma at all) become clear.

For instance, for new sources of oil to be identified and extracted out of the ground- the price of this important commodity will have to rise- as most of the "cheap oil" that could be taken out of the ground and sold for $20-30 a barrel- is gone. Consumed. The era of cheap oil is over.

What comes next is a steady increase of the price of oil until this new price renders it profitable for the explorers and producers to take it out the more difficult source from the ground. This is inevitable and no amount of investment in alternative energy development or reduction in current consumption is likely to alter this basic fact.

The major question is when does demand begin to seriously outstrip supply and production/extraction peaks that causes huge price hikes?

You can read the rest of the article here:

http://www.joelbainerman.com/articles/oil.asp

[Steve Rymer]

There's plenty of oil left for those few nations that seek to control it.

The trick is to deny it, economically or militarily to the rest of the world.

[Brent Crosby]

We American consumers deserve nothing but blame for our addicting habits. Conservation? Not here. A statistic during the last quarter of 2005 showed Americans actually consumed more at the pump during the highest prices. Which is sad because the people that are trying to conserve at the expense of their own livelihoods have nothing to show for it.

[Mark Stapleton]

When it comes to the subject of whether the world is running out of oil- just type in the following phrase into any search engine and see how many mainstream news outlets have reported on the subject of "peak oil" in the past six months.

No longer are stories on the subject found on alternative/conspiracy web sites. The mainstream is now reporting on the problem.

Yet surprisingly- the governing class doesn't seem to be paying attention.

Is There Really A Shortage of Oil In The World?

Is the world really running out of oil?

No, but it is most definitely running out of cheap oil.

After surveying the views of the world's leading experts in the field of monitoring and tabulating the world's petroleum supplies- the magnitude of the problem and the complexity of the solution (if there are indeed solutions to this dilemma at all) become clear.

For instance, for new sources of oil to be identified and extracted out of the ground- the price of this important commodity will have to rise- as most of the "cheap oil" that could be taken out of the ground and sold for $20-30 a barrel- is gone. Consumed. The era of cheap oil is over.

What comes next is a steady increase of the price of oil until this new price renders it profitable for the explorers and producers to take it out the more difficult source from the ground. This is inevitable and no amount of investment in alternative energy development or reduction in current consumption is likely to alter this basic fact.

The major question is when does demand begin to seriously outstrip supply and production/extraction peaks that causes huge price hikes?

You can read the rest of the article here:

http://www.joelbainerman.com/articles/oil.asp

Joel,

Great article. The era of cheap energy is over. Because of the magnitude of America's consumption of oil, it now finds itself compelled to aggressively pursue dwindling supplies of this resource. Interesting observation that America's invasion of Afghanistan may have been more about establishing a secure route for future Caspian Sea oil supplies than about chasing Osama. I fear the 'war on terror' will become the feeble pretext for all future US efforts to secure global oil supplies for itself. (I think they're already calling Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez a 'threat to peace'). Pathetic.

The boss of Shell's US oil division was interviewd on NBC's 'Today' show yesterday and his attempts to justify the industry's $26 billion profit--for one quarter--were pitiful. Some nonsense about establishing a 'fund' to explore alternatives was mentioned, as well as the usual motherhood statements empathising with US motorists ('we feel the pain, too', 'our executives have to pay the high prices for gas for their cars, you know') and the patronising suggestion that motorists drive slower in order to conserve fuel. He failed to mention the fact that the industry has for decades used its financial clout to discourage research into alternatives.

[Steve Rymer]

On a general note.

It is interesting to see how posts in respectable forums and some news articles in MSM are beginning to merge with the ideas proposed by the 'conspiracy nutters'.

[Guest Stephen Turner]

And still the SUV's and Hummers roll off the (low pay, non Union) production lines, with Chinese Car production coming up fast on the inside lane. We really can be the most stupid of species when we put our minds to it, most other animals tend not to crap where they live.