so do you guys think that we are at the brink of oil depletion ?

 

No. The price is being driven up by speculator investors, the falling dollar, and the increased worldwide demand for oil and its byproducts.

 

Yes, global production has been flat for the last 3 years. A lot of big oil producers are now in decline (Russia, Mexico, Iran, UK/Norway).

Mexico is expected to decline at a rate of around 5% a year. And just look at North Sea production. All these declining regions/countries will drop faster than growing or new fields can replace them.



As far a price goes it is from a little bit of all the things 91_z28_4me mentioned. Global recession should cool prices a year of two from now.

 

No.

 

Nope.

 

i hate when you post that crap its depressing. i really hope they get a viable alternative fuel car going in the near future like by 2010.

 

Yup, I'm of the opinion that we are on the brink of a global recession which will cool down oil prices. I don't anticipate <$3/gallon again in my lifetime though barring a deep recession or depression in China or the US.

 

If we can cut consumption then hopefully prices will plateau, just like in the early 80's. Unfortunately unlike the 80's this time the shortage isn't political it will be geological.

We have a lot of fat to trim, the first things to go obviously go are 5000lbs. trucks and SUVs used as commuter cars. I think plug-ins could save unbelievable amounts of fuel. Even if you only get 20 miles to a charge that will be huge. 20 miles * 365 = 7,300mi a year on electric.

 

you know what i always thought would be a neat idea but so improbable and impossible to do.

if they isntalled a system on all major highways like 90,87,88 that used magnets to pull the cars along. so basically you drive up on the on ramp and the magnets would take over shut the engine down and you just sit there and then when it can to getting off you punch in to a computer what town or exit you wanted to get off at and as you went down the off ramp the engine would reengage and you take over again.

it would take way to much money to build an infrastructure like that and to much energy to power it. but think off all the diesel and gas that would be saved.

 

well i see it as people are buying 4 cyl cars and hybirds, yet they fill up 2 and three times as much as we do, so it doesnt really seem like its really doing anything, maybe they should limit how much people actually use in a year

 

By "three times as much as we do" I presume the "we" is f-body drivers? Are you implying drivers getting 35mpg in their 4-cyl are using 2-3 times the fuel as those in f-bodies? In order for that to be true, given that a honda civic uses almost half the gas per mile as a f-body or a truck...

So let's say you drive 10,000 miles per year @ 18mpg, that's 555 gallons.

A civic getting 30mpg average would need to drive 33,000 miles a year in order to use double the fuel you use, or 49,950 miles/year to use three times the fuel.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding. I truly doubt your average 4-cyl driver is using 2-3 times the fuel "we are."

 

We do that already, its called raise the price.

 

Middle East production


Iran Oil production (Notice the demand rapidly sucking up the surplus while the production is slowly starting to go down. by 2015 they will be an importer)


World production


Canadian production


Mexican production



US production



as you can see just in North America, even Canada's increase (if possible) can't make up for Mexican and American decline. Just wait until middle east production starts dropping.

 

I don't believe we are on the brink of depletion, but the general consensus is that if we haven't already hit it within the next few years we will have reached the peak of oil production, meaning the supplies will be less and less each year until it is eventually gone.

 

The reason US oil production is declining is the lefty government officials and all the crazy environmentalists have way too much power in the US. We have insane amounts of oil under this country and off the intercontinental shelf, but the government has regulations that make drilling and exploration all but impossible.

I find it pretty funny that congress passed a bill to sue OPEC since they weren't increasing their production. But they won't increase production in the United States.

All the blame on the oil companies and OPEC is just a smoke and light show put on by the majority of our government officials and the media outlets.

They just did it again today. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,365627,00.html

I can't even type anymore, all this BS from our elected officials makes me sick.