(Financial Times) Oil prices hit new record highs above $61 a barrel on Thursday, driven by short-term supply fears as the first hurricane of the season threatened crude production and refinery operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

But private warnings also point to a worsening long-term outlook, with Saudi officials saying that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries [OPEC] will be unable to meet projected western demand in 10 to 15 years.

At today’s prices, the world will need the cartel to boost its production from 30m to 50m barrels a day to 50m by 2020 to meet rapidly rising demand, according to the International Energy Agency, the energy watchdog for consuming countries.

But senior Saudi energy officials have privately warned US and European counterparts that OPEC would have an “extremely difficult time” meeting that demand. Saudi Arabia calculates there is a 4.5m b/d [million barrels per day] gap between what the world needs and what the kingdom can provide.

And there ain’t 4.5m b/d to be found in ANWR, either.

Of course, we could do sensible things, like lower the speed limit to 55MPH (so that people will only go 70MPH), or increase mandatory auto fuel efficiency (CAFE standards) by 1MPG, or eliminate tax incentives for purchasing Hummers and other SUVs and require them to meet CAFE standards, or increase funding of biodiesel and hybrid-electric development (or just plug ’em in and get 100 MPG)… yeah, if we wanna be wimps like Jimmy Carter.

“Energy will be the immediate test of our ability to unite this Nation, and it can also be the standard around which we rally. On the battlefield of energy we can win for our Nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny.

In little more than two decades we’ve gone from a position of energy independence to one in which almost half the oil we use comes from foreign countries, at prices that are going through the roof. Our excessive dependence on OPEC has already taken a tremendous tool on our economy and our people….

This intolerable dependence on foreign oil threatens our economic independence and the very security of our Nation.

The energy crisis is real. It is worldwide. It is a clear and present danger to our Nation. These are facts and we simply must face them.

…I’m asking you for your good and for your Nation’s security to take no unnecessary trips, to use carpools or public transportation whenever you can, to park your car one extra day per week, to obey the speed limit, and to set your thermostats to save fuel. Every act of energy conservation like this is more than just common sense — I tell you it is an act of patriotism.”