Roland Watson

British energy customers must be wondering when the continued bad news of price increases will end. In a mini-version of “Peak Oil” in the UK, the sceptred isle will become and stay a net oil and gas importer next year.

In a world where natural resources will continue to climb in price, it is an increasing truism that he who has the energy makes the rules.

Invest now in goods which will decrease energy dependency but also invest in an unwritten future through a diversity of assets which will maintain purchasing power. If anything is certain, it is that money will still exist on the other side of Hubbert’s Peak and the various goods and services that it can purchase.

One simple rule of thumb regarding Peak Oil is to view it as a film of society running backwards. The cheap air flights all reverse forever into their hangars and the large hotel complexes of inexpensive Mediterranean resorts are unbuilt to the ground. Meantime, the local resorts within a few hundred miles [teem] with activity…

What is the third date in the great Peak Oil saga? It is the year in which alternate energy sources finally offset the equivalent decline in crude oil production. Prior to that date, oil production will in general keep falling but the energy equivalent delivered by solar, wind, nuclear, etc. will always be less.

Peak Oil is coming soon, no doubt about it in my mind. But like religious groups who set the date for the Second Coming only to end up looking like fools, some caution is advised. If Peak Oil is postponed for a few more years due to a recession, the number of peak oil books and websites will also decline. If that happens, the actual peak in oil production may arrive with more of a whimper than a bang…