Jeffrey J. Brown: Has Oil Peaked?: Yes

The Dallas Morning News – The world has used half its reserves and is headed for shortages

The Texas oil industry knows all about peak oil, because we’ve already gone through it.

In 1972, Texas was king of the oil world. We had increased our oil production by 40 percent during the previous 10 years at relatively low prices. Texas producers were poised for surging production as oil prices exploded and rose tenfold by 1980. The state underwent its biggest drilling boom in history. The number of producing wells jumped 14 percent by 1982. The industry consensus was that oil production would increase dramatically. To general astonishment, it fell instead, despite dramatically higher prices, frantic drilling and improving technology. By 1982, production had dropped to almost exactly what it had been in 1962.

The Dallas Morning News