Coal to Oil: A Limited Solution

The Times of India – The price of oil hit a record high of $78/barrel last week. The energy crunch looks like going from bad to worse in coming decades. The BRIC report of Goldman Sachs predicts that between 2000 and 2050, India’s GDP will rise almost 60 times and China’s 40 times.

That sounds great, but if oil consumption in these countries rises at just half their GDP growth rate, China will need 160 million barrels/day and India 60 million barrels/day by 2050.

That’s impossible: world production today is just 85 million barrels/day, and does not seem likely to rise much higher. What’s the way out? Maximising the use of coal is one obvious possibility.
The Times of India