Courier Mail
28/01/2008 Page: 8
IT will take only seven years for world demand for oil and gas to outstrip supply, according to the chief executive of the world's second-biggest oil company. Adding to concerns long held by energy experts, Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer said that by 2015, supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas would not keep up with demand. "We are experiencing a step-change in the growth rate of energy demand due to population growth and energy development," Mr van der Veer said in an email to Shell employees.
Society would have no choice but to use nuclear energy and unconventional fossil fuels such as oil sands, as well as renewable energies, he said. Australian Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas Brisbane spokesman Stuart McCarthy said yesterday it was time for governments to act, now that big businesses were speaking openly about the problem. Mr McCarthy wants the Queensland Government to move on a report by a committee chaired by the state's Minister for Sustainability, Andrew McNamara.
The McNamara report warns the peak oil crisis could hit the tourism industry hard, put pressure on inflation and dramatically increase demand for effective public transport "We need the Government to act, this will impact far sooner than climate change," Mr McCarthy said.
Shell has developed two scenarios for how it sees the energy crisis unfolding. The first, dubbed Scramble, envisages policymakers paying little attention to curbing consumption until supplies run short. When major shocks trigger political reactions, they would be severe and lead to energy price spikes and volatility. The other scenario, Blueprints - which Shell prefers - would see governments introduce regulatory mechanisms such as efficiency standards and taxes to improve environmental performance.
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