Peak oil doom-mongers ignore coal and natural gas, which are abundant and can replace crude oil. Steven Schafersman, petroleum geologist, “Be Scared; Be Very Scared,”10/10/02, www.freeinquiry.com/skeptic/badgeology/energy/commentary.htm Next, the doomsayers universally ignore petroleum resources other than oil. Coal and natural gas remain abundant in the world, and the former can be converted to oil (synthetic fuels) and the latter is now replacing it on ever greater scales. No one is predicting that these will run out soon. But in addition, oil can be profitably produced today using modern technologies from oil sands and heavy oil deposits (tar sands), and proven reserves of these in Canada, Venezuela, and Russia equal or exceed all the crude oil produced until the present. In addition, liquified natural gas (gas liquids) resources are believed to be enormous and their exploitation only just begun. That leaves gas hydrates (clathrates) in oceanic sediments and oil shale (actually, kerogen in shale that can be converted to oil). These petroleum resources are simply colossal, although they cannot be exploited with today's prices or technology, but that could change. All of the doomsayer arguments rest on the decline in crude oil alone, and their arguments fail to the extent that other petroleum resources are able to replace oil as an energy source. Since the amount of these additional petroleum resources is many times greater than the proven crude oil reserves, the doomsayers' arguments fail quite readily, indeed.
Natural Gas Solves Natural gas resources will sustain the global energy supply until the end of the 21st century. Peter R. Odell, Proessor Emeritus of International Energy Studies @ Erasmus University, “Why Carbon Fuels Will Dominate the 21st Century’s Global Energy Economy,” 2004, p. xi-xii