THE WORLD could run out of oil in at little as 20 years according to geologist and petrochemical consultant John Roberts.

The Rhymney-born man is co-founder and technical director of Usk-based Cambrian, a consultancy employing 100 professionals around the world.

He said: "The rate of new discoveries has tailed off dramatically over the last five years and at the same time emerging economies with huge populations are industrialising fast.

"For example, if every family in China bought a moped, world demand for petroleum would double.

"And there are projections which have every Chinese family owning a car by 2010. Can you imagine the consequences of that?"

America certainly has, and is now moving swiftly back into Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa, to secure oil supplies from troubled but oil-rich nations such as Angola.

Mr Roberts said: "Africa's biggest producer, Nigeria, pumps about two million barrels a day, but Angola is already pumping one million barrels and rising."

He said that as much as 20 percent of America's oil (it gets through 20 million barrels a day) could now be coming from southern African states. The search to secure the lion's share of diminishing oil supplies could certainly explain America's enthusiasm to take hold of the reins in Iraq. "Running out of oil is likely to have enormous political consequences for the world with stronger nations securing supplies by force of arms if necessary," said Mr Roberts.

The geological hunt for petrochemicals is now more desperate than ever. "India's economy is about to explode and the government realises it would be a lot cheaper to find its own oil and gas than import them.

"It has encouraged on-shore and off-shore prospecting and we have been busy there for clients such as ONGC and Cairn."

Sadly for the UK, the North Sea is no longer considered to be an answer to future needs.

"The North Sea is now regarded as a very mature field."

The oil business has always been conducted in a series of bitter-sweet cycles and, like its clients, Cambrian struggled in 1999 and 2000 when the oil price fell to 9.5 dollars per barrel.

"But now it's floating between 25 and 30 dollars and we're busier than ever an