Shell Oil Hints At Peak Oil

This (via The Oil Drum) is noteworthy. In a recently-released statement, Royal Dutch Shell’s CEO all but admitted that the world is on the verge of peak oil prodution (emphasis added):

Regardless of which route we choose, the world’s current predicament limits our room to maneuver. We are experiencing a step-change in the growth rate of energy demand due to rising population and economic development. After 2015, easily accessible supplies of oil and gas probably will no longer keep up with demand.
As a result, we will have no choice but to add other sources of energy – renewables, yes, but also more nuclear power and unconventional fossil fuels such as oil sands.

It’s remarkable that a major energy company is publicly acknowledging that within seven years we will no longer be able to draw from “easily accessible”–i.e., “cheap”–reserves of oil. Presumably we’ll be stuck with drilling thousands of feet into the ocean or trying to squeeze oil out of sand. High demand for a resource + higher production costs = a much higher market price.
We now have energy company leaders talking about the upcoming oil supply crunch. Where is the political leadership on this issue?
Even the Democratic presidential candidates are missing in action. Sure they talk about more ethanol, changing light bulbs, and throwing up a few more windmills. But this problem calls for action far beyond that. We need to be restructuring our entire transportation system–placing a heavy emphasis on public transportation. We need to improve our rail infrastructure so that it will be better equipped to transport freight. We need to build or extend light (electric) rail transit systems in our major cities. We need to increase our nuclear power capacity.
In short, we need someone with leadership skills who can lead us in finding national solutions which may not necessarily be easy, convenient, or cheap. But which, over the long run, with help us navigate through the treacherous rapids of peak oil without capsizing.