LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) - Combined production of crude oil, gas and condensates in the United States is on course to a hit a record this year, passing the previous peak set in 1972. Sign up here.

Almost synonymous with the term "peak oil" is M. King Hubbert, perhaps the foremost geophysicist of the 20th century, who first theorized about the eventual decline of oil production in the 1930s. His ...