The world's maximum oil output peaked about three years ago, an industry expert from Texas said.
Mathew Simmons, a consultant from Houston says that Saudi Arabia's largest oil field, Ghawar, is in decline and that sustainable global production reached its peak in May 2005.
Simmons argues the current price of oil -- about $125 per barrel -- is too low, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
Christophe de Margerie, the chief executive officer of French oil company Total has said maximum global output capacity is about 100 million barrels of oil a day, which means rising demand will exceed the world's maximum possible production in less than 10 years, the Post reported.
In a report issued this month, the International Energy Agency said making up for declining oil production in established fields would take more than 3.5 million barrels a day of new production.
In the United States, production peaked in 1970 at 9.6 million barrels a day, which covered most of the country's needs at the time, the Post reported. Production has declined to 5.1 million barrels a day, covering about 42 percent of the country's demand
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