Oil crisis ahead says UK’s Industry Task Force on Peak Oil

16 May 2010 16 May 2010

BonTrade

The recent oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico may cost BP more in the long term as major companies could join the lobby against the oil industry for its harmful effect on the environment, according to the UK Industry Task Force on Peak Oil and Energy Security.

Spokesman John Miles said: “There is likely to be a massive outcry against the environmental risk of drilling in extreme locations and operations may get suspended.”

Mr Miles added that this outcry could also lead to an awareness of the problem of oil shortage and affect oil and fuel prices in the future. However, a report by the US EIA indicates that the aftermath of the oil spill on April 20th has shown no real change in the oil industry so far.

The US government currently estimates that there are around 60 billion barrels of oil beneath the ocean floor in the Gulf of Mexico. This enormous reservoir would be enough to keep the US economy, with its trucks, Chevrolets, Learjets and Boeings, its chemical and materials industries, running for nearly another decade.

The question, though, is how dangerous this deep sea oil extraction really is. Deepwater Horizon’s catastrophic explosion, which claimed the lives of 11 crew members, has turned the spotlight on the challenges of offshore drilling.