Can recent oil discoveries delay energy shortages?
BP has just announced the discovery of a ‘giant’ oil field in the Gulf of Mexico, just after Iran unveiled the discovery of 8.8 billion barrels of oil. Does this mean that the ‘peak’ oil supply will be delayed or can the pessimists continue to predict shortages within the next fifty years? The world is painfully aware that the supply of fossil fuels is limited, the question however is, how long will they last? The peak oil debate has been going on for years, with points of view ranging from the ‘Polyanna’ stance, which maintains that oil production levels will continue to increase at the same rate as economic growth, through the optimistic viewpoint, which places its faith in the discovery of more oil, combined with technological advances in renewable energy sources which will replace the deficit caused by oil shortages, all the way through to pessimistic and ‘head for the hills’ scenarios in which the world economy collapses within the next fifty years due to energy shortages. The gia
