Energy Expert Warns Of Tough Times Ahead

Oil prices have already risen sharply and gasoline prices are expected to follow after this week’s shutdown of one of North America’s biggest oil fields. An expert in the energy industry says it’s a reminder of how fragile the oil supply really is.

Matthew Simmons, who summers in Maine, is the country’s top investment banker for the energy industry. Simmons says the world’s oil supply will start shrinking in the coming years, even as demand for oil and natural gas continues to grow.

He says that means a real risk of shortages. So he says Americans need to change their habits, learn to conserve much more, and take all other steps to reduce the use of oil. But he says the country also needs to aggressively search for more of it, including in Alaska and offshore areas.

“It won’t solve the problem, but everything we do will buy us time,” said Simmons. “Then what we need to do is launch a research effort the likes of which we have never done before to go on a quest to find new sources of energy that don’t exist today,” Simmons said.

WCSH6