There are numerous indications that world oil production peaked in July 2008. So says Professor of Physics Kjell Aleklett. According to him, the theory that oil production is on a downward path is gaining more and more supporters. Uppsala Physics Professor Kjell Aleklett has long been convinced that the world’s oil production will turn downwards in the near future. And the turn maybe has already happened.

“There are numerous indicators that world oil production peaked in July 2008 at around 87 million barrels per day”, he says.

According to Aleklett there are certainly oil reserves remaining for new production. But only through expensive processes that are not profitable when oil is at today’s price level. Therefore, planned new investments are being mothballed.

“In the 1970s we had a crisis at the gasoline bowser [pump] but the oil reserves still existed. It is a completely different situation today.”

Starting new oil production is not as simple as pressing a button. Instead it is expensive work that often takes many years, says Aleklett.

It sounds as though the oil price is going to rise again?

“The price of oil will go up, but the question is if the demand will be so strong that oil will approach $150 per barrel again. “

So what solutions are there for the oil problem?

“The transport system in society is faced with huge challenges and in the end there is only one solution for personal transport and it is electric cars. Old gasoline guzzlers must go".

That change will go faster than many think, believes Kjell Aleklett.

“The USA is an interesting example where oil production has, in fact, decreased since 2007.”

Kjell Aleklett has often aroused strong reactions when he has asserted his view on peak oil. But he now thinks that he finds greater acceptance of the notion that oil production is, in fact, on the way down.

He says a little jokingly: “When the companies cannot produce more, what are they going to say?”

According to Kjell Aleklett oil production is constrained by a problem that many have had difficulty accepting:

“The oil companies don’t sell a product, they sell energy and it is not something that can be produced. Energy can only be converted from one form to another.”

“When the topic is oil there are far too many economists that express themselves far too much about something that they do not understand.”

Kjell Aleklett on today’s oil production:

“In one year production from old oil fields will be lower by around 3-4 million barrels per day. We need 3-4 million barrels of new production every year going forward.”

“But developments are following the scenario we have – production will lie on a plateau for a couple of years before it turns downward.”

The problems for oil producing nations:

Reduced production and lower prices hit hard against all nations in the Middle East. Russia and Mexico are also affected as we can already see.