Dow Jones

U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Tuesday that oil producers have “lost control of the market,” which is currently in hands of oil traders.

The former head of Saudi Arabian Oil Co’s oil exploration Wednesday sharply criticized U.S. government oil supply projections. “The whole industry laughs at it,” said Sadad Al-Husseini.

A respected oil-forecasting group predicted that the energy industry may be unable to produce enough oil to meet projected demand by the end of the next decade, in a study that lends support to a small chorus of analysts who warn that a peak in petroleum output is looming in the years ahead.

Deep water covers 180 billion barrels of the world’s undiscovered oil and natural gas reserves, more than twice the amount yet found, Scottish energy consultants Wood Mackenzie said Wednesday.

Royal Dutch/Shell Group’s disclosure that it overstated its proven reserves by 20 per cent rattled energy investors and is raising questions about whether the oil industry as a whole has inflated its prospects.