basil fawlty
1st Aug 2001, 01:18
A few months back on a nightstop i was watching BBC world, and there was a programme (can't recall the title)about the potential future oil shortage, and the fact that it is a lot closer than everyone thinks.
The prog was based around a geologist who had worked for the Shell oil company for 40 years, looking for new oil fields. The main thrust of his statement was that all the areas where it is geologically possible for oil to be created have now been surveyed, and there are no new large oil fields yet to be tapped, only smaller fields. This, combined with the fact that global demand for oil is constantly increasing will result in a significant rise in the price of oil within 5 years ( due to production limits by the arabs in order to maximise their revenue), and a physical shortage within 15 years, or maybe sooner (as the big fields start to run dry). It also singled out aviation as the industry that could not adapt to alternative energy sources. So could we see a collapse of the air travel market in 15 years time? Will we be back to travelling by ship? Is it worth starting out on a career as a pilot now, if its all going to be over half way through your career? The prog certainly had my attention. I'm a F/E, and that position on the flightdeck will be long gone by the time any of the above is a factor, but I have to decide if the substantial financial investment to upgrade my piloting qualifications to JAA is worth the risk. Or should I finish my flying career as a F/E and then go out and sell solar panels or wind turbines??!!
The prog was based around a geologist who had worked for the Shell oil company for 40 years, looking for new oil fields. The main thrust of his statement was that all the areas where it is geologically possible for oil to be created have now been surveyed, and there are no new large oil fields yet to be tapped, only smaller fields. This, combined with the fact that global demand for oil is constantly increasing will result in a significant rise in the price of oil within 5 years ( due to production limits by the arabs in order to maximise their revenue), and a physical shortage within 15 years, or maybe sooner (as the big fields start to run dry). It also singled out aviation as the industry that could not adapt to alternative energy sources. So could we see a collapse of the air travel market in 15 years time? Will we be back to travelling by ship? Is it worth starting out on a career as a pilot now, if its all going to be over half way through your career? The prog certainly had my attention. I'm a F/E, and that position on the flightdeck will be long gone by the time any of the above is a factor, but I have to decide if the substantial financial investment to upgrade my piloting qualifications to JAA is worth the risk. Or should I finish my flying career as a F/E and then go out and sell solar panels or wind turbines??!!