Peak Oil: What To Do When The Wells Run Dry

During the oil crisis of the 1970s to the rapid rise of oil prices during the early part of the twenty-first century, concerns surrounding the use and availability of this non-renewable resource greatly increased in the minds of many. One theory that always seems to creep up when oil prices rise is the idea of peak oil, which is a hypothetical date at which the world’s crude oil production will peak. Every day after this would mean lower production levels and an ever decreasing supply.

Simply put, when the world’s oil producers combined can no longer increase their oil output, we will have reached peak oil. Oil will be increasingly difficult to find and extract because there will be less of it and fewer deposits to find.

Although the steady depletion of oil is a certainty if we assume oil is a finite resource, optimists don’t see peak oil through the doom-and-gloom perspective of some. Peak oil may be decades away, and all the hype in the meantime serves a purpose by spurring progress in setting up alternative energy sources. By the time peak oil arrives, it is hoped that alternative sources of energy will be in place.

While there are as many peak oil proponents as there are detractors, in this article we will look at how you can make money on this potential event. (For an easy to understand introduction to the theory and the potential societal effects, read Peak Oil: Problems And Possibilities.)

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