Running on empty?

The latest spike in oil prices doesn’t mean we’re getting down to the last drop. The fact is nobody knows how long the Earth’s reserves will last

Depending on whom you listen to, global oil production has peaked, will peak soon, or may not peak for a very long time.

Although the peak-oil thesis has existed since the 1950s, it has gained considerably more attention in recent months with the rising price of oil.


The tipping point may well have come on the year’s first business day, when oil hit the $100-mark. Yesterday, crude-oil futures settled at $110.21 U.S., after touching a record high of $111 on Thursday.

“When demand soars and production is at full capacity, the price goes up,” says Maurice Marchon, a professor at HEC Montreal.

That being the case, it’s easy to assume the escalating price means oil is more scarce than ever. Geopolitical tensions, the high price of developing new oil fields and the weak U.S. dollar have all been blamed for rising prices.

But it doesn’t mean a collapse of oil production is imminent.

Montreal Gazette