Oil scarcity has ’snuck up on us’, expert says

The idea that the world’s supplies of oil have either peaked or will soon start declining has suddenly gained new respectability.

The concept of ‘peak oil’ has been derided by the big oil companies for years, but at the end of last week came a turnabout.


The chief executive of the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, Jeroen van der Veer, put out a paper on Friday forecasting the end of easy oil.

Mr Van der Veer said the result could be a worldwide scramble to mitigate climate change.

Dr Jim Buckee has just retired as president and chief executive of Talisman Energy, a major independent Canadian oil company with a market capitalisation of $25 billion.

Dr Buckee says he was not surprised when Royal Dutch Shell admitted oil supplies were getting tighter.

“I think it was only a matter of time before one of them had to say that, and the pronouncements of the majors are inscrutable at best and I believe they often have a very political overturn,” he said.

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