Cheap oil days nearing end, UNH prof warns

The supply of oil will peak this decade and the world no longer can depend on it as a cheap energy source, according to a professor at the University of New Hampshire.

The Dover Energy Advisory Council hosted professor John Carroll on Tuesday night. Carroll teaches in the UNH Department of Natural Resources and has authored several books on sustainable natural resource use and agriculture.


“This is a serious issue that has not been brought to the mainstream,” said Eric Kelsey, a member of the Energy Advisory Council who introduced Carroll.

Carroll defined “peak oil” as the period when the maximum global production of petroleum is reached. After that, the rate of petroleum production will steadily decline.

Carroll explained that the quality remaining is poor, but the cost continually rises. The process to extract petroleum then will cost more for oil companies than it is worth.

“We’re going to have to cap a lot of wells unless the governments come in with subsidies,” he said.

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