Oil Depletion Analysis Centre

The Oil Depletion Analysis Centre (ODAC) is an independent, UK-registered educational charity. The centre is working to raise international public awareness and promote better understanding of the world's oil depletion and peak oil problem.

ODAC was founded in June 2001 on the belief that an informed public debate about the likely impacts of depleting oil supplies is critically needed. A growing number of experts now predict that world oil production has peaked or will reach its physical peak within the coming decade and then start to permanently decline. The prevailing view of most energy policy-makers and institutions is that near-term oil supply is mainly an economic and geopolitical concern. Under almost any scenario, however, lead time is running short for a smooth transition to new energy systems and a less oil-dependent way of life.

Aims

ODAC aims to engage public interest, stimulate concern and create public-interest momentum for progressive change in energy policy and planning.

• Disseminating available information as effectively as possible to news media, other opinion-formers and leaders, interest groups, and the public at large

• Facilitating information exchanges between and among interested parties

• Monitoring developments in oil-depletion analysis, maintaining an up-to-date information base, and offering an advisory service on oil-depletion issues

Trustees

Christopher Patey (Chair)

Formerly Head of Public Affairs and Community Relations, Mobil North Sea Ltd, and author of a book on the history of the company's activities, he is currently a non-executive director of Sponsorship Consulting Ltd, a marketing communications firm.

Sarah Astor

Co-founder of ODAC and of another UK charity that helps political refugees (Asylum Aid), she was formerly a trustee of a research charity dedicated to sustainable land-use, agriculture and food systems (Elm Farm Research Centre).

Dr. Colin Campbell

Former Executive Vice President, Fina Exploration, Norway, he is Chairman and Founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO) and Visiting Scientist at Uppsala University in Sweden. He has published three books and numerous articles on oil depletion.

Richard Hardman, CBE

Former Vice President, Exploration, Amerada Hess International, he is now an oil and gas exploration consultant. He was formerly President of the UK Geological Society, and chairman of the Science and Innovation Strategy Board of the Natural Environment Research Council.

Roger Harrison

Formerly chairman of a media investment and property company, he was also a non-executive director of three major media companies and chief executive of The Observer newspaper. He is a trustee of several charities, including a social service charity (Toynbee Hall) and Elm Farm Research Centre.

Chris Skrebowski

Editor of Petroleum Review, a monthly magazine published by the Energy Institute in London, he formerly edited Petroleum Economist and was an oil market analyst for the Saudis for eight years. He started his career in the oil industry as a long-term planner for BP, then joined Petroleum Times as a journalist and edited an offshore magazine in the late 1970s.

David Strahan http://www.davidstrahan.com/index.html is an award-winning investigative journalist and documentary film-maker, with many years experience of popularising some of the most difficult and important stories in business and science. He quit the BBC to spend two years researching and writing The Last Oil Shock: A Survival Guide to the Imminent Extinction of Petroleum Man,http://www.lastoilshock.com/index.html published by John Murray Ltd in April 2007. (Interview: 3 August 2007)

Advisers

Ali Morteza Samsam Bakhtiari Senior Analyst, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Iran.

Brian Fleay Institute of Sustainability & Technology Policy, Murdoch University, Australia.

Klaus Illum Energy Systems Analysis Consultant, Denmark.

Jean Laherrère Former Deputy Exploration Manager, Total Oil Company, France.

Ray Leonard, CEO Hyperdynamics Incorporated, Houston, Texas, USA.

Jim MacKenzie Senior Associate, World Resources Institute, USA.

Susanne Peters Senior Fellow, Political Science Department, University of Giessen, Germany.

Matthew Simmons President, Simmons & Company International (energy investment firm), USA.

Walter Youngquist Geologist and Consultant, USA.

Walter Ziegler Exploration Consultant, Switzerland.

External links

• ODAC Information site
• Newsletters and overview of the dates when each country will peak
• Peakoil conference October 2004
• Global Public Media: Video & Sound interviews