If you think energy has been pretty tight lately, you probably don't want to be around in the next few decades.
This morning I took a sip of coffee and immediately spat it out. The problem wasn't that was too bitter. It wasn't that it was too hot. Rather, it was because of the headline I happened to read as I began drinking.
Displayed across my screen was the headline: "With 6.5 Billion People, the World Won't Last Much Longer." The article was devoted to how six billion people on this planet are tipping the Earth's balance.
I wasn't sure whether to laugh or spit. Unfortunately for me (now scrambling to clean up the mess) it was the latter option.
But this is why I was so shocked: If this guy thinks the world can't sustain itself today, what does he expect to happen in thirty years?
According to the United Nations, the world's population will grow to a staggering 9.2 billion people by 2050.
Think about it this way . . .
That's an increase of 2.7 billion people. This is the same amount as the Earth's total population in 1950!
I'm not trying to pick a fight on ways to control the population. Instead, I'm more concerned about how we'll get enough energy to support that massive growth. Because when it comes to future energy supplies, we need to be worried about scale.
And as if finding our future energy sources wasn't enough of a problem, our main source of energy now--fossil fuels (specifically oil)--is in deep trouble. The onset of the global oil production peak means that our growing consumption will continue outpacing our production.
For the past three years, many of the world's major oil companies were unable to produce enough to replace reserves.
The Scramble for Oil
Just look at the world around us and you'll see a mad dash for the precious black gold. And the rush will cost us billions of dollars.
Right now, more than 90% of the world's oil reserves are owned by nationalized companies.
But the picture gets worse.
Perhaps we can ask BP what it feels like. Russia swept the rug from underneath the oil company. It began imposing incredible goals for the company to continue operating the Kovykta field in Siberia. This is one of Russia's largest natural gas fields and has enough reserves to last Asia for five years.
When a country is having a difficult time taking control, it simply nationalizes the resources. Hugo Chavez recently took control of every oil field in Venezuela . . . for the good of the people, of course.
Things continue to heat up on the global stage.
I can't stop wondering how far some of these people are willing to go.
In the latest move, Vladimir Putin just claimed an enormous piece of the Arctic. This area is over five times the size of Britain and holds a wealth of resources like oil and natural gas.
Like I said before, it's a mad dash to the finish line. But we don't need to be left out in the cold.
The World's Last Energy Bull Market
The global oil peak represents a tremendous investment opportunity. Just to keep up oil production, we're going to be pouring trillions of dollars into development and exploration in the future.
It's safe to say there's enough profit to go around, and many of my readers are already seeing some of that money rolling in.
Until next time,
Keith Kohl
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