Since 1967, exporting crude oil has been the leading hard-currency earner for Oman : similar to 9x10(5) barrels of crude oil per day being extracted in 1997. The total remaining oil reserves, which can be harnessed economically now, amount to approximately 5.2x10(9) barrels, but this commercially-available resource is expected to be depleted completely by the year 2015. The second most important source of energy in the country is natural gas. present economically-harnessable reserves are approximately 724x10(9) Nm(3). In 1994, the amount extracted was merely 2.4x10(9) Nm(3). This resource is expected to be exhausted by the year 2064. From 1990 to 1995, the Government-run electricity-generation power-capability rose from 1277 to 1642 MW : the peak demand has grown simultaneously by 59%. The total-power generation in 1995 was 6500 GWh, while the annual consumption was 6173 GWh; the domestic sector accounting for approximately 60% of the total consumption. The rate of energy consumption pattern is seasonal in nature, with the mid-summer electric demand being nearly triple that of mid-winter. Private cars accounted for 54% of the total number of vehicles in Oman in 1994, and this number is rising rapidly. The associated freedom of choice to use the private car in order to satisfy the desires for increased mobility and privacy will not be sustainable in the long term.