Publication

This paper examines the problem of old and rapidly aging supplies of oil, contrasted with young and rapidly growing demand. The author argues that the world faces an energy challenge more dire than at any time in recent history. Oil prices have shot to record levels during 2008 not due to political upheaval, as with the 1973 Arab oil embargo, nor because of war and strife, as after the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the ensuing Iran-Iraq war. Deeper and more fundamental forces are driving prices this time, the author says, ranging from galloping demand in Asia and the Middle East to the skyrocketing costs and complications of discovering and developing new oil basins.