We may be hitting a peak in demand for oil. That’s the idea raised in The Economist two weeks ago – Yesterday’s Fuel.
Between a tremendous surge in natural gas production and car efficiencies, they perceive demand for oil may stabilize instead of continuing to grow.
Thus, we might finally have a real Peak Oil issue:
This is not the “peak oil” widely discussed several years ago, when several theorists, who have since gone strangely quiet, reckoned that supply would flatten and then fall. We believe that demand, not supply, could decline. In the rich world oil demand has already peaked: it has fallen since 2005. (emphasis added)
As the article points out, a Peak Oil (Demand) issue creates problems for Big Oil and OPEC. It would be a good thing for all of us consumers.
Late last week the Washington Post tumbled to the idea – Is peak oil demand just around the corner?
(Yeah, you can pray for me that I pay so much attention to media that I can see {and enjoy} when one media outlet that got scooped plays catch up a few days or weeks later.)
The article points out that making predictions 50 years out is difficult and forecasting energy demands is particularly difficult.
Possible peak in demand would come from rising prices, auto efficiencies, electric cars, and alternative fuels based on the Post article. Not to worry, the author is still a true blue believer in Peak Oil (Production):
And if that [peak oil demand] happens before peak oil production hits, well, that would come as a relief.