About Peak Oil
What is Peak Oil?
Peak oil is the maximum rate of worldwide oil production.
Total worldwide production of crude oil has been almost flat since 2005, the amount of energy (and money) it takes to extract new oil supplies is rising, while competition for oil is increasing—-both from growing domestic consumption in oil-producing nations and from China, India, and other rapidly developing economies. New oil supplies are increasingly coming from difficult places (such as deep-water wells or war-torn nations) or expensive processes (such as hydraulic fracturing and tar sands).
Global peak oil does not mean “running out” of oil. In a world of rising oil demand, increasing competition for diminishing oil resources with far-reaching consequences for our economy, national security, and the environment.
Of the 42 largest oil producing countries in the world, representing roughly 98% of all oil production, 30 have either plateaued or passed their peaks.
