"Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum production is reached, after which the rate of production enters its terminal decline.
"If global consumption is not mitigated before the peak, an energy crisis may develop because the availability of conventional oil will drop and prices will rise, perhaps dramatically"
In 1956, M.K. Hubbert developed the "Hubbert Peak Theory" (shown in the bell curve above). This theory correctly predicted that the U.S. would max out its oil production rate between 1965-1970.
Declared reserves with suspicious increases in bold purple (in billions of barrels) from Colin Campbell, SunWorld, 80'-95
The world, especially the U.S. relies heavily on oil
Trends today (such as the 2% growth rate of oil consumption per year) reflect a steady increase in oil demand, causing a perpetual price increase
Increase in demand has resulted from population growth, industrialization, and an increased standard of living
Sources of oil are becoming harder to find; no more "easy" oil
They key debate poses this question: "when will we reach the peak?"-- has it happened, perhaps tomorrow, maybe in 50 years
There are currently 98 oil producing countries in the world, of which 64 are thought to have passed their geologically imposed production peak, and of those 60 are in terminal production decline.
World oil demand grows at an average of 2% per year.
China's demand has grown at 8% per year since 2002, meaning oil demand will double in less than 10 years.
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