While oil executives have traditionally been die-hard optimists regarding the future of black gold, the industry has been undergoing a quiet revolution with some global brands subtly changing the way they identifying themselves; re-labelling as energy companies rather than oil companies.
In a recent survey carried out by Deloitte of senior oil and gas executives, an increasing acceptance of the unsustainable nature of oil industry was noted as was a marked shift in oil executives attitudes towards the viability of renewable energy.
53 percent of respondents believed that the USA could run out of reasonably priced oil within the next 25 years and 56 percent felt the world will run out of reasonably priced oil in the next 50 years.
Only only 23 percent believed that oil will still be the cheapest source of energy 25 years from now; representing a massive 48 percent drop over the previous survey. 54 percent viewed renewable energy as highly sustainable in the future and 37 percent also see renewables as an affordable source of energy 25 years from now.
In a separate Deloitte survey of registered voters across the USA, renewables such as solar power and wind energy had an 86 percent public favorability rating, a result that was consistent across all age and education groups.
Yesterday, chief economist to the International Energy Agency stopped short of using the "peak oil" term so feared by the oil industry, but told The Guardian that conventional crude output could plateau as soon as 2020. 12 months after its 2007 World Energy Outlook, the IEA revised its figures on the speed of annual output decline from 3.7% to 6.7%.
