Report: Oil ‘Peak’ Not Coming Anytime Soon

Global oil production is not likely to peak anytime soon, contrary to talk that has helped propel prices to $60 a barrel, although lower prices may still be a few years away, a prominent energy consultancy said Tuesday.

Cambridge Energy Research Associates said that, instead of a crest being reached sometime this decade, an inflection point in world oil output will occur sometime beyond 2020, after which production will plateau for several more decades.

In a report that builds upon earlier analyses by the Cambridge, Mass.-based consultancy, CERA said it believes that between now and 2010 there will be a substantial increase in worldwide oil production capacity. It said that “as a result, supply could exceed demand by as much as 6 million to 7.5 million barrels per day later in the decade” that will lead to an extended period of lower prices beginning as early as 2008.
USA Today