Oil production to hit an all time low

According to a recent report by the German-based Energy Watch Group (EWG), world oil out-put peaked in 2006 - much earlier than expected. Now, there are fears that oil production and shortages of fossil fuels will drop by half in 2030.

"The world is at the beginning of a structural change of its economic system. This change will be triggered by declining fossil fuel supplies and will influence almost all aspects of our daily life," said Joerg Schindler, author of the report.

"By 2020, and even more so by 2030, global oil supply will be dramatically lower. This will create a supply gap which, can hardly be closed by growing contributions from other fossil fuels, nuclear or alternative energy sources in this time frame," he added.

However, where the EWG study claims, "there is sufficient certainty that world oil production is not going to rise significantly anymore and that world oil production will soon decline." The results are in contrast to projections from the International Energy Agency, which says there is little reason to worry about oil supplies at the moment.

Although there are various viewpoints, the report presents a bleak view of the future unless a different approach is adopted. It quotes the British energy economist David Fleming as saying: "Anticipated supply shortages could lead to disturbing scenes of mass unrest as witnessed in Burma this month. For government, industry and the wider public, just muddling through is not an option as this situation could spin out of control and turn into a complete meltdown of society."