Colin Campbell

Campbell's work reviews the geological origins of oil and gas, and the history and current status of this key industry. It assesses how much oil and gas has been produced; what remains in known fields; and what is yet-to-find, explaining how to properly interpret published numbers, many of which are spurious or distorted by vested interests.
Discovery having peaked in the 1960s, production is now set to peak too, with five Middle East countries regaining control of world supply. The oil shocks of the 1970s were short-lived because there were then plenty of new finds to bring on stream. This time there are virtually no new prolific basins to yield a crop of giant fields sufficient to have a global impact. The growing Middle East control of the market is likely to lead to a radical and permanent increase in the price of oil, before physical shortages begin to appear within the first decade of the next century.
The world's economy has been driven by an abundant supply of cheap oil-based energy for the best part of this century. The coming oil crisis will accordingly be an economic and political discontinuity of historic proportions, as the world adjusts to a new energy environment. It is not necessarily bad news as there are solutions, even benefits, provided that action is taken in time. Much concern is already expressed about climate change and pollution, but the debate needs to understand the resource issues as well.
This timely book is critical reading for management and government, as well as being excellent academic material for courses in a range of subjects including economics, environment, resources, geography, political and social sciences and petroleum studies. Bankers and investors can likewise benefit greatly from this advance knowledge of what is to come. The general reader will also not be disappointed by this provocative, readable, well illustrated, thoroughly researched and documented study. The world has grown dependent on oil, and the coming crisis, which is very different from the shocks of the 1970s, will be a discontinuity of historic proportions affecting all Mankind.

• Paperback: 210 pages
• Publisher: Multi-Science Publishing Co. Ltd. (first published 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0906522110
• ISBN-13: 9780906522110