Back in the 1950s, a geophysicist named M. King Hubbert
predicted that American peak petroleum production would occur in
the early 1970s. He was proven absolutely correct. Since then,
there has been a relentless decline in flow from the US oil
wells. Numerous scientists applying Dr Hubbert's analytical
techniques have since determined that world peak petroleum
production, the eponymous `Hubbert Peak', will be reached before
2010, and indeed may well have been passed by now. It is
virtually certain that all reserves of easily extractable
petroleum have already been identified, that no more exist.
Smaller discoveries will continue to be made in ever more
inaccessible areas, but it is all downhill from now on, as far
as total oil production is concerned. It has been estimated that
petroleum will be virtually depleted within 40 years, probably
sooner, considering the burgeoning worldwide demand,
particularly from the rapidly developing countries of China and
India. Meanwhile, America, representing less than 5% of