[Peakoil] ASPO-USA Urges Energy Department to Confront Risks of Oil Crisis

[Jenny Goldie]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 9, 2012

Contact:  
Jan Lars Mueller, jmueller at aspousa.org, (202) 470-4809 x 3
Jim Baldauf, jbaldauf at aspousa.org, (512) 517-2663

 
ASPO-USA Urges Energy Department to Confront Risks of Oil Crisis

Representatives of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas USA (ASPO-USA) are urging the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-including its data and analysis branch, the Energy Information Administration (EIA)-to fully recognize the risks facing U.S. oil supply and the threat of a near-term oil crisis. ASPO-USA is calling for DOE and EIA to critically examine these risks and properly inform decision-makers and the public about the consequences for the economy, national security, and the environment.

Exuberant Forecasts for Increased Oil Production in North America Based on Misrepresentation of Data

In a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu and EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski, ASPO-USA said that DOE and EIA must maintain an independent, unbiased, and prudent perspective amidst a barrage of industry and media hype about a new era of oil abundance. The letter points to overly optimistic forecasts from industry and media sources for increased oil production in North America and cites evidence that such claims are overstated and based on misrepresentation of the data. "They confuse oil in the ground with actual supply delivered to the market, they overstate the potential of technology, and understate the increasing cost and difficulty of extracting new oil," said Jim Baldauf, ASPO-USA president and co-founder.

Tightening Competition for Global Oil Exports Increases Risks for Near-Term Oil Crisis

The letter goes on to highlight that the United States remains very dependent on imported oil. Competition for oil exports on the global market is rapidly increasing, however, as demand in emerging economies grows and oil-exporting countries increase their domestic consumption. "Since 2005, China and India have consumed an increasing share of a declining volume of oil exports," noted Jeffrey Brown, ASPO-USA vice-president and an independent geologist who tracks oil export trends. "If we extrapolate current trends, China and India alone would consume 100% of global net oil exports by 2030," Brown added.

"We have to face the reality that more drilling at home will not significantly address our vulnerability to a global oil supply crisis," said ASPO-USA Executive Director Jan Lars Mueller, "a dramatic reduction in national oil consumption is a wiser and cheaper path to energy security and oil 'independence'."

The Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas USA is non-profit, non-partisan research and education organization dedicated to helping America understand and adapt to a new energy reality, where oil is becoming increasingly more costly and difficult to extract from the Earth, and oil supply may not meet soaring global demand.  www.aspousa.org