Predictions from 1999, in retrospect, were far too pessimistic about the global oil market and the U.S. in particular. The last decade has been among the most prolific in the history of the petroleum industry-
A letter in a November 1999 edition of the Oil & Gas Journal, "Running Out of Oil," written by an industry consultant, stated 11 facts and predictions. Far from unusual, his facts were generally correct and his prognostications mainstream.
U.S. oil production was in decline in the 1990s. Oil imports were rising. This led George W. Bush to declare in his 2006 State of the Union Address: "America is addicted to oil."
Until around 2010, in fact, "Peak Oil" was in vogue both inside and outside the industry. Pro-oil voices urged greater public-land access and less regulation to increase otherwise declining production; anti-oil voices favored government subsidies and mandates to fashion a post-petroleum future.