Peak oil now More About Demand Than Supply

Jul 18 2011

Peak oil now More About Demand Than Supply

We have all seen the headlines stating boldly that we will sooner or later face a crisis with the supply of oil unable to meet the demand.  A new study in “peak oil” is going to question this theory and investigate whether we should not actually start to think of “Peak oil demand.”

As the world reacts to concerns about the oil price, energy security and climate change, we will see even faster advances in alternative technologies such as fuel cells and electric vehicles.  The study aims to research whether or not this could result in the demand for oil starting to drop long before the supply runs out.

The multi-client study will be conducted by Kevin J Lindemer and Ricardo Strategic Consulting.  It will assess the impact of alternative energy sources on the demand for oil and how it will influence users, energy producers and governments if the world could cure its oil addiction.

Those who support the peak oil demand theory will probably not agree.  They say that the global population is still increasing rapidly and that countries such as China and India are growing at an astronomical rate – factors that only serve to increase the demand for oil.  They, therefore, predict that we will soon be unable to produce enough oil to satisfy the growing demand – causing oil prices to skyrocket.

The study should shed some light on these conflicting views and help all of us, including the humble car owner with his used car loan, to plan for the road ahead.

Louise Hutchinson

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