Predictions vary, but one day the oil will run out
n his 2006 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush declared that the U.S. is a nation “addicted to oil” and vowed to take steps to reduce Middle Eastern imports by 75 percent by 2025. After a summer of $3-plus gasoline, most of us would see this as a good idea. But it may be too late. According to a growing cadre of petroleum geologists, the days of cheap oil are over. At issue is a concept called Hubbert's Peak, named for former oil-company geologist M. King Hubbert.

What happens when petroleum peaks?
et ready to hear a lot of discussion on the term “peak oil.” What it means is simple: The world’s supply of cheap, readily available oil has reached its apogee—or peaked—and from here to the foreseeable end of the oil economy world demand will consistently outstrip global supplies. What that portends, however, is anything but simple, with predictions running the gamut from full-on collapse to unconcerned shrugs. If there’s light at the end of our petroleum tunnel, it’s a growing interest in some very good things—like getting serious about real conservation, new developments in truly alternative energy, and a blossoming discussion about how and why citizens and their governments must prepare for a more self-sufficient future.

Take a Lesson from History
All civilizations run on energy. On Easter Island, in centuries past, energy came in the form of trees. Nothing happened on Easter Island without trees: no fires for cooking, no materials for building houses, no canoes for fishing, and no wooden poles for raising the enigmatic giant stone statues which stand to this day with their backs toward the sea. But as the population of Easter Island grew, its need for trees outstripped the ability of the island to grow them. The civilization of Easter Island collapsed when someone, finally, cut down the last tree [New Scientist; subscription required]. The Easter Islanders were unable to develop new sources of energy, which spelled ruin for their entire culture.

Giant Oil Find in Gulf of Mexico Offers Promise that There is Lot More Oil Out There
Chevron, Devron Energy and other partners this week announced a new oil find in the Gulf of Mexico that could hold as much as 15 billion barrels of oil – the largest U.S.-based discovery since Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay field a generation ago. With country’s current reserves at 29 billion barrels, the discovery could lead to an increase of proven U.S. reserves of 50%. However, to put things in perspective, the reserves of Saudi Arabia are cited as being more than 250 billion barrels. It will also take many years and huge sums of money to extract the oil, which is miles beneath an area of ocean that is about 300 square miles. The test well is about 270 miles southwest of New Orleans.

Oil 'threat' to SEQ
Brisbane suburbs and nearby centres have been classified on an "oil vulnerability" map as a Senate report finds the explosive Peak Oil theory could strike Australia within two decades. The interim report issued yesterday in Canberra is one of the first federal government-backed examinations of Peak Oil, and finds it plausible. The report recommends that Australia stockpile gas reserves, prepare for an oil-free world by 2020, and seek alternative fuel sources.

Rift widens between producers, consumers
High crude prices have widened the rift between consuming nations, hungry for oil now, and producers who argue they must manage their reserves for the future. Britain used the latest technology to pump as much North Sea oil as possible and now its fields are declining at the fastest rate in the world. At the other extreme, under-explored Libya, whose oil development was hobbled by years of international sanctions, has rising production rates and great potential.