Arctic Oil Grab: Oil at the Top of the World

It should come as little surprise that the Arctic now seems to be becoming contested in the great game of energy.

If you buy into the Peak Oil hypothesis which suggests that world oil production is peaking or soon to peak, then you will think it logical that states will be trying hard to establish claims to oil and natural gas deposits below the Arctic Ocean.

All the evidence on the Internet suggests that world hydrocarbon production (oil, natural gas, coal, etc.) has peaked and is headed into decline. M. King Hubbard, an American geologist, predicted that oil production in the United States would peak in 1970. He was right. Now most countries in the world have peaked in their production of oil.

This is why energy intelligence experts have fanned out across the world to assess the best way to secure supplies for their clients. The Arctic is just the latest place where the quest for the last remaining oil and natural gas deposits of the world is taking place.

I believe that we can expect energy prices to increase markedly over the next ten years if the world has, indeed, passed peak production. Should demand continue to grow has it has so far, then we can expect prices for energy to rise.

The all means that there will be opportunies for entrepreneurs to find new energy sources and to deliver energy in more efficient ways. In Ontario, for instance, the government is switching homes over to "smart metering" which means that draws on the power grid can be managed more efficiently and offers can be made to individual home owners to manage their energy costs.

There are now more-frequent media reports about companies that go door-to-door offering utility payers the opportunity to "lock-in" their monthly payments to avoild fluctuating or higher energy costs. Companies can offer this opportunity by buying futures contracts for energy production to hedge against higher prices.

To me, there would seem to be an opportunity for web entrepreneurs to resell such opportunities on-line.