Is 2006 the year of peak oil? The latest figures are suggesting it could be…

World production of oil has peaked according to Dr Ali Samsam Bakhtiari, a former executive of the National Iranian Oil Company. He predicts a fall of 32% by 2020 as wells dry up and new discoveries become rarer, smaller and harder to extract…

Speaking at lecture in Sydney, hosted by the Financial Services Institute of Australasia, Dr Bakhtiari told those gathered that global oil production has reached it’s peak. The latest figures put the level of global production at about 81 million barrels per day which is almost 4 million barrels lower than the International Energy Agency

While Bakhairi is adament that global production has peaked, the publically expressed opinion from oil companies differes widely. Last month, Mark Finley, head of energy analysis for BPsaid there was no shortage of oil resources, a claim that doesn’t tally with the 2.5% fall in the companys global production reported last week.

ExxonMobil are also in public denial. They recently published adverts in Australian newspapers dismissing the idea that peak oil is coming soon.