America’s Oil Future: A Question of Access

Last fall the Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary, Samuel Bodman, asked his National Petroleum Council (NPC) to help answer the basic question as to whether world oil production can meet rising demand. David J. Lynch, in a USA Today article November 11, 2005, correctly noted the key language in a reference to the “peak oil” debate that “the world is at, or near, maximum oil production.”

The NPC is a privately funded advisory committee established in 1946 by President Harry S. Truman. This council is presently composed of about 175 US industry executives and represents a broad cross-section of the industry. The group’s chairman happens to be the now-retired CEO of ExxonMobil, Lee Raymond. This organization has produced more than 200 reports over the years that cover virtually every aspect of the oil and gas business.