By David Millward, Transport Editor
Last Updated: 1:26PM GMT 29 Oct 2008
Itwill also see prices soar to far higher levels than the $147 a barrelpeak of July, which saw the country's motorists paying 119.7 pence alitre for petrol.
The warning of a looming energy crisis hasbeen made by the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security,an alliance of eight companies drawn from across the economy.
It has predicted that the availability of cheap oil will slump after 2013, with a devastating impact on the British economy.
In recent months the price of oil has dropped because of the downturn in demand from industrial countries.
Gordon Brown has convened a London conference of 38 oil producing countries to discuss in December.
Lastweek the 13-nation OPEC oil cartel tried to push prices back up byannouncing a production cut of 1.5 million barrels a day.
But there are growing fears that the fall in the cost of oil over recent months has been a temporary respite.
Inits report the taskforce says Britain must prepare itself for freshprice increases and the impact it will have on the economy.
Moreexpensive oil will push up the rate of inflation because of the risingcost of manufacturing and delivering goods. Food will also become moreexpensive.
It has warned the Government that the impact of an energy shortage will be felt far earlier than climate change.
"Thefirst report of the Taskforce is a balanced look at the energy risksand opportunities we face," said Will Whitehorn, chairman of the group.
"It is also a wake up call to the urgent actions required in theUK and other major global economies to overcome the consequences of theend of the era of cheap oil.
"The current financial andeconomic crisis provides a real opportunity for the British Governmentto lead the world in renewable investment whilst the oil and othercommodity prices remain suppressed in the short term by weaker demand."
Another member of the taskforce, Brian Souter, the chiefexecutive of the bus and train conglomerate, Stagecoach, said theGovernment should respond to the crisis by persuading people to switchto public transport.
"We need more effective partnerships,greater leadership and more bold and imaginative pro-public transportpolicies from local and national politicians.
"That has to besupported by more investment in the quality and capacity of country'srail and bus network infrastructure if Government is serious aboutmaking the UK a more sustainable country in which to live, work andtravel."
Jeremy Leggett, another member of the group, said society had become oil dependent.
"Whatwe are warning of is a peak in production beyond which will be a fall,potentially a rapid fall, and that will mean a global energy crisis ifthe analysis is correct," he said.
"When they fail to meetdemand, many countries will experience this as an energy crisis. Somewill experience it as an energy famine, as producers start to withholdexports."
Earlier this month Gordon Brown told MPs that Britainwas trying to increase North Sea oil especially in marginal oil fieldsand those which had been explored but were not exhausted.
At the same time Britain is committed to producing 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.