Governments in the U.S. Prepare for Peak Oil

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A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report says that since most studies suggest decline of oil within around three decades, the U.S. government must prepare the country for that eventuality.

Here are links to this and other reports, plus articles that interpret them.

"GAO Report: Strategy Needed to Address Future Peak in Oil Production" in the April 4, 2007, issue of EERE Network News, a publication of the Department of Energy.

"Crude Oil: Uncertainty about Future Oil Supply Makes It Important to Develop a Strategy for Addressing a Peak and Decline in Oil Production," GAO-07-283, published February 28, 2007. This is the actual 82-page GAO report, with highlights in a sidebar.

A 2004 report, "Long-Term World Oil Supply Scenarios," by the U.S. Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy.

"EIA Examines the Long-Term Longevity of Petroleum" in a 2004 issue of EERE Network News discusses the above report from the EIA.

Portland is energetically pursuing ways to be prepared for a decline in available oil. "Descending the Oil Peak: Navigating the Transition from Oil and Natural Gas" is an 86-page report of the City of Portland's Peak Oil Task Force, published in March, 2007.

Posted by at April 18, 2007 12:00 a.m.
Categories: Policy, Transportation

Comments

#30027

Posted by unregistered user at 4/18/07 1:05 a.m.

EIA has been too optimistic in every prediction they have made at least the last 5 years.
Given the rapid decline of Cantarell and OPEC's inability to increase productions (and actual decline in SA production during 06), I think it is safe to assume the peak already has been passed.

The question is now what the slope will look like.
Will supply or demand decrease faster?
I think we can fit in one or two oil shocks (say ME trouble and hurricane) before major recession hits us and demand drops like a rock. The effect of PO will then be hidden until the world tries to recover from the recession only to discover that oil production doesn't meet needs and price refuses to go down.
We are then in for a looong depression until population drops sufficiently or alternative energy is implemented in a large scale (no we are not talking ethanol or biodiesel in the near term as this is unfeasible in a large scale without causing mass starvation).

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#30031

Posted by unregistered user at 4/18/07 4:30 a.m.

The EIA is full of themselves. for them to say that we can even go to 2026 untill we peak, is at best a lie. The above poster hit it on the head with what he said. Look up the numbers if you believe the EIA. They can be found.

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#30087

Posted by unregistered user at 4/18/07 1:52 p.m.

Much depends on OPEC's excess capacity. I'm a suspicious person, and wonder if their production cuts are intended to hide the fact that there's very little excess capacity remaining.

Consider: if they had the ability to produce significantly more oil, they might be tempted to lower prices to encourage more oil consumption. But if their oil production is about to peak, then there can be no increased consumption and they'd might as well squeeze every dollar they can get.

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#30093

Posted by unregistered user at 4/18/07 2:44 p.m.

Why is this kind of information always buried within the blogs or back pages of the mainstream media?

This info needs to be right out on the front page of every paper in the US, with detailed analysis similar to that which the MSM is currently doing over the Virginia Tech massacre. Frankly, this is a much more important issue than any massacre or other spectacular, one-time event. Peak Oil will affect everyone on a global basis.

Or is the MSM just trying to keep the wheels on the apple cart for as long as possible???

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#30872

Posted by unregistered user at 4/25/07 11:55 a.m.

If you want to get your local government on board with planning for Peak Oil, please support Seattle Peak Oil Awareness's Peak Oil Resolution: www.seattleoil.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?
t=715

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