by LadyRuby » Wed 10 May 2006, 09:33:29
One quote from the article:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'U').S. government research that is widely respected among analysts concludes that a peak in output — or the point at which half of the world's reserves are depleted — is likely to arrive around the middle of this century, give or take a decade or so.
That US government may be widely respected but they have a terrible track record for accurately predicting supply and prices.
Look at this slide on natural gas in 1998 (especially look at lower NA conventional gas):
Natural gas production forecast from 1998
Versus this in 2005 (Slide 11 in this presentation):
2005 natural gas production forecast slide 11
In 1998 the were expecting a great increase in conventional natural gas. Never materialized. So by 2005 they had changed their story to unconventional natural gas.
Or natural gas price projections:
Natural gas price forecast 1999
Here, not long ago look at the projected world price through 2025, under $30/barrel.
2004 EIA forecast for oil
Or here:
Another forecast for price of oil
Or here:
A 1999 forecast for price of oil