In late 2005 as oil prices rose, greater attention was focused on Hubbert's theory and its potential implications. While Hubbert himself is still not widely known, debates and discussions about the energy crisis have become commonplace in the media and elsewhere almost everywhere in the world. However, oil and gas prices are notoriously volatile and price increases have been caused by numerous other factors, though there is a general agreement that increased demand has been the major factor, with such increased demand bringing the Hubbert peak closer than would have been predicted otherwise. In June 2005, OPEC admitted that they would 'struggle' to pump enough oil to meet pricing pressures for the fourth quarter of that year. The summer and winter of 2005 brought oil prices to a new high. This may be a sign of increasing demand having started to outstrip supply or it may just be that the various geopolitical forces in the regions where oil is produced are limiting the available supply. One other explanation for the rising oil prices is that it has been a sign of too much paper money and not too little oil. In this view, dramatically higher prices of all commodities and real estate indicates rising inflation.

The Burgan Field, Kuwait's largest oil field, peaked in November 2005. In March 2006, Fernado Canales, the Energy Secretary of Mexico, announcedthat Mexico's giant Cantarell Field peaked in 2005 though a fresh discovery in the same month has been described as perhaps containing 10GB of heavy crude. Burgan and Cantarell are among the largest fields in the world. Only Saudi Arabia's Ghawar is larger and it may have entered depletion in 2006.

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