Demand for Oil May Pass Output by 2012

Production limits, not supply, could prompt an oil crisis in less than a decade as efforts to reduce demand and introduce alternative fuels trail growth in the world’s oil needs, the Journal reports. Oil companies currently produce 85 million barrels daily; some experts say they'll hit a wall at 100 million barrels—far below projected world demands, and a recipe for shortages and skyrocketing prices.

Although reserves are plentiful and production has grown 2.3% annually since 1965, extracting oil has gotten tougher because of increased costs, limited access to oil fields, and geologic factors that limit production to avoid damaging supply. Not everyone agrees there’s a ceiling, though: Exxon, the IEA, and the US government believe production will climb as high as 120 million barrels a day by 2030. (More oil production stories.)