Notable authorities such as the EIA, the IEA, OPEC and BP forecast growth of demand for oil in their base case scenarios through the end of their forecast periods. These same organizations failed to predict, and even to fully recognize after the fact, the start of declining demand in the United States and the OECD when those occurred more than a decade ago . Royal Dutch Shell broke ranks from other industry players last fall when its chief executive officer opined that global demand could reach a maximum in the next five to fifteen years . Given the nature of the demand plateau and the historical failure of authorities to predict its advent, it is time for the oil industry to begin planning and watching for the turn. Global demand growth has been slowing over the last decades, and it is forecast to grow at around 1 percent or […]