| Summary: | The oil peak theory first advanced by Colin Campbell more than 25 years ago is influencing market expectations about the medium-term supply/demand balance in the world petroleum market. In the same vein, Matt Simmons has focused on the scarcity issue, arguing in his book – Oil Twilight in the Desert – that Saudi Arabia has much less oil than generally thought, and that its super-giant field, Ghawar, is seriously suffering from natural decline. These theories and views provide additional ammunition to those who have been consistently arguing that this supply/demand balance will increasingly become tighter because of oil consumption growth in China, India and in oil-exporting countries, and the failure of OPEC member countries and the international oil companies to invest as much as may be required in the exploration, development and production of crude oil.
|
|---|