NEWS: The UK is about to run out of fuel.

A report from the BBC has indicated that the UK will soon run out natural gas supplies.
The Uk is the third largest consumer of gas after the US and Russia, and there are many concerns that the supplies in the North Sea could run out as soon as 2011. Where would we get our energy then? Are precautions against this already in place i.e. Iraq?

news.bbc.co.uk...

"Oil is an emotive subject. Countries are accused of starting wars
because of it, and when turned into petrol or diesel it powers the great
internal combustion engine.
From convertibles cruising down Hollywood Boulevard, to tanks rumbling
into Iraq, or an ambulance racing across London, oil literally drives the
world."

Is it too late to come up with an alternative energy source if this were to happen so soon?
Because of the amount of money that Oil companies make, and the fact that most of these rich guys are friends with the highest ofpoliticians have hindered any kind of progress to this.
The rich like to stay rich, at ANY cost. Maybe that cost is that the Great Oil War will begin. It sounds far fetched at the moment, but we never really know what's going on behind the scenes.

[Edited on 22-1-2004 by SkepticOverlord]

Not saying that I beleive all the hype about the end of the world talk but...................

Isn't it strange that it could run out in 2011 one year before the end of the world is supposed to happen in 2012 according to several accounts(end of mayan calender, etc....).

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm....

[Edited on 22-1-2004 by BlackJackal]

Holland has a lot of gas in stock, but I heard our government doesn't want to export it but is planning on using it for it's own habitants.

I believe that most of the world will run out of cheap oil sometime in the next two years. This is not to say that there will not be any oil, but that the way we use it will have to change. Look at the current status of the natural gas supply in the United States. We have been on the verge of running short for a couple of years. Luckily we've had a couple of mild winters.
I'm sure that it's no concidence that Britian was our major ally in invading Iraq.

Originally posted by Olafski
Holland has a lot of gas in stock, but I heard our government doesn't want to export it but is planning on using it for it's own habitants.

Holland already exports vast ammounts of gas to Italy

Originally posted by dbates
I'm sure that it's no concidence that Britian was our major ally in invading Iraq.

That is a very good point.

don't think its coincedince because holland got much of it and it has a mayor role in the iraqi war. but its a great thing now they can go and use fuelcell tech and hybride cars....

At our current rate of consumption, the global supply of natural gas will last another 500 years. England should build an LNG importation station like they are doing in North East US. I'm sure it's about to happen sooner or later, the bidding for the contract is probably in progress. Algeria will probably help to fill the UK demand.

All you doomsdayers who claim that oil is almost exhausted, it is a severely unfounded concern. For example, the largest oil deposit in history was discovered off the coast of Angola in 2002. Check out upstream newspaper for truthful, up to date information on oil and gas supplies.