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by Tony Henderson, The Journal
A WARNING about what is described as a looming crisis caused by dwindling oil supplies will be delivered by an expert in Northumberland tomorrow.
Dr Roger Bentley, who has studied the issue of “peak oil” for many years, will be talking at a public event run by Alnwick Friends of the Earth.
It’s due to take place at 7.30pm in St James Church Centre at Pottergate, Alnwick. Entry costs £2.
In the latest in the Friends’ climate change series of talks, Dr Bentley will highlight issues surrounding a peak in the production of oil on the United Kingdom, with regard to energy security, climate change and price surges.
He is a visiting research fellow at the University of Reading and has given evidence several times to House of Lords select committees on economics and energy.
Dr Bentley said yesterday: “The world’s supply of conventional oil is close to peaking and may already have peaked.
“What is economically significant is the possible sharp decline once the peak has passed.
“A 3% or 4% reduction per year will quickly cause large price increases and, possibly, rationing. Any large scale switching of supply from oil to gas for things like electricity generation, transport or heating, will simply bring forward the date of the supply peak for gas.”
He said the rising price of oil and gas will also increase the cost of materials that require large amounts of energy during their production.
Metals like aluminium and steel are the most affected.
“The inability of supply to meet the demand for oil and gas is resulting in rapidly increasing prices even before production decreases,” he said. “Nuclear power is handicapped by decommissioning costs which are uncertain.
“So renewables will likely be cheaper than other sources of generation for electricity well within the lifetime of any conventional new power station built today.”
David Farrar, co-ordinator of Alnwick Area Friends of the Earth, said: “As the economy slowly starts to recover, we could see a pick up in demand for oil and a rapid return to the prices of 2007.
“Roger will be showing how likely this is and what we might do to take a different path.”
