The Wire

The International Energy Agency has issued a warning this week that global oil production will peak in about 10 years time. The chief economist at the IEA, Faith Birol, says that without an adequate government response – oil shortages could precipitate a worldwide economic and industrial collapse. Most of the world’s biggest oil fields have already peaked and the rate of decline in oil production is now running at nearly twice the pace as calculated two years ago. Domestically, figures show that Australia’s crude production has fallen by about 25% per cent in the past five years. Some analysts believe that both state and federal governments are completely unprepared for peak oil.