The UK government is planning an inquiry into the longevity of global oil supplies as campaigners warn of an approaching crisis, the head of the Department of Trade and Industry's energy markets unit said on 2 November. "We can expect that an investigation will be announced within the next few weeks" aimed at allowing a more open discussion on the arrival of "peak oil," the point at which worldwide oil production begins to decline, suggested the DTI's Claire Durkin. The speech comes as a diffuse coalition of geologists, economists and activists have been warning that global production could decline as early as 2007 as major oilfields mature.

 http://www.powerswitch.org.uk/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1327&Itemid=2

See also two BBC news stories on the 9th and 10 November 2005

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4423456.stm  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4423590.stm