A worldwide oil shortage is due in four years - not 40 years. That is the prediction of the Oil Depletion Analysis Centre in London, an organization of scientists and oil industry experts. It was reported by The Independent newspaper in England.
The prediction was made in reply to a report by BP, a British oil company, stating that "the world has enough 'proven reserves' to provide 40 years of consumption at current rates." Colin Campbell, the head of the depletion center, rejected that statement. Campbell is a former chief geologist and vice president for a number of major oil companies, including BP. He said the actual peak for the supply of regular oil occurred in 2005. Now the supply is coming from heavy oil, deep sea reserves, polar regions and oil from other sources that is more difficult to refine. He predicts that decline in the remaining oil will begin in 2011.