[black rain]

Some Calculations...........
A conservative estimate of current production is 80 million barrels per day
= 30 billion per year
Average oilfield decline rate = 4.5%
= 1.2 billion barrels less than the previous year


So how much energy loss is this?
1 barrel of oil = 1.7 MWh
so 1.2 billion barrels = 2.04 bilion MWh = 2.04 million GWh


in 2007, the total energy generated by ALL the coal fired power on earth
= 8.3 million GWh (wikipedia quoted)

So it can be said that a year's decline of oil is equivalent to 1/4 of the world's coal fired generators going offline........................shocking

[Pops]

You posted this 5 times, we get the idea.

[KingM]

There's something off in your numbers. Coal was 27% of total global energy consumption last year, vs. 33% for oil. Removing a quarter of coal's energy contribution would be the equivalent of a 20% decline in oil, which is over four times the actual decline you cited.

Furthermore, overall oil production is not declining at 4.5% per year. As we reach peak, individual fields may decline at this rate, to be offset by a smaller and smaller number from new projects. In the meanwhile, coal is actually increasing as a percent of the overall energy mix, year by year, as are other sources.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis; the world is awash in energy. Peak oil is a liquid fuel crisis.