Oil Peak ‘Looms’

The Association for the Study of Peak Oil (Aspo) says oil production will peak in 2007. The New Zealand oil exploration industry disputes that.

The International Energy Agency predicts the peak some time between 2013 and 2037.

Jones said Aspo was an association of petroleum geologists who had worked for oil companies. When they did they were too constrained to publicise the urgency of oil production peaking and falling. The group was gaining more attention worldwide.

The peak in the production of light crude oil would cause a sharp and sustained rise in world oil prices and a physical shortages in oil might occur. Dirtier fossil fuels, which were harder to extract, would be used, but they had financial and environmental downsides.

RedNova