U.K. Parliament Members Form `Peak Oil’ Group to Study Reserves

July 10 (Bloomberg) — The U.K. parliament formed a group to study peak oil, the theory that world oil production is approaching its zenith, as British lawmakers face up to the country’s future as an energy importer.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil and Gas, which held its first meeting June 26, comprises 32 members of the House of Commons, or lower chamber, and seven from the House of Lords, or upper chamber.


It aims to collate predictions for when production may peak and consider the implications for energy policy, rather than push a particular view, said the group’s chairman, John Hemming, a Liberal Democrat MP for Birmingham Yardley, central England.

“Will oil production peak?” Hemming said in a telephone interview. “Yes, it will. Will it peak in my lifetime is a question worth considering. If you look at the issue of being energy-resource constrained, you use energy more efficiently. We need to aim to be more economical with energy.” The group will next meet July 24, he said in an e-mail today.

Bloomberg