China in talks for possible Cuba oil block

State-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is discussing with Cuba the possible leasing of one or more offshore exploration blocks in Cuban Gulf of Mexico acreage, a Cuban state oil company official said on Wednesday. “They are discussing that. They have to look at the data and see if that’s what they want, and that’s […]

Bakken Production Visualization

Hello Readers! Today is quite exciting as we have our first blog post showcasing the power of gDC data and visualization from Visage. We are going to be releasing a series of analysis in conjunction with Visage to display the value of looking at data in different ways than we have typically be used to […]

Namibia Sees 11 Billion Barrels In Offshore Oil Reserves

An estimated 11 billion barrels in oil reserves have been found off Namibia’s coast, with the first production planned within four years, mines and energy minister Isak Katali announced Wednesday. The finding could put Namibia on par with neighboring Angola, whose reserves are estimated at around 13 billion barrels and whose production rivals Africa’s top […]

Natural gas discoveries mean growth ahead in the Northeast

Cheap and abundant natural gas has revitalized the Gulf Coast’s petrochemical industry, after demand for its plastic products took a beating in the recession. But some of the chemical comeback isn’t coming back to Texas. Discussions about the industry’s growth are increasingly focused a thousand miles northeast, in the booming Marcellus Shale region. The natural […]

Ocean floor muddies China’s grip on ’21st-century gold’

China’s monopoly over rare-earth metals could be challenged by the discovery of massive deposits of these hi-tech minerals in mud on the Pacific floor, a study on Sunday suggests. China accounts for 97 percent of the world’s production of 17 rare-earth elements, which are essential for electric cars, flat-screen TVs, iPods, superconducting magnets, lasers, missiles, […]

Bank says Saudi’s top field in decline

Speculation over the actual size of Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves is reaching fever pitch as a major bank says the kingdom’s – and the world’s – biggest field, Gharwar, is in irreversible decline. The Bank of Montreal’s analyst Don Coxe, working from their Chicago office, is the first mainstream number-cruncher to say that Gharwar’s days are […]

Ugo Bardi, Modeling depletion: from Hubbert to System Dynamics

Modeling depletion – from Hubbert to System Dynamics. Ugo Bardi. Professor at the University of Florence, President of ASPO-Italy PDF presentation: http://www.congresopicodepetroleo.unedbarbastro.es/presentaciones/UgoBardiPre…

US oil and gas reserves grew in 2010

According to Ernst & Young’s 4th annual US exploration and production benchmark study, oil reserves grew by 11% to 17.8 billion barrels in 2010 and natural gas by 12% to 174.3 trillion cu. ft., the strongest oil and gas reserve growth in the last five years. The report examined the US exploration and production results […]

More natural gas reserves found in India

National Institute Oceanography (NIO) scientists have discovered huge quantities of natural gas trapped in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (IEEZ) but are unable to tap this due to lack of technology in the country. NIO scientists, involved in research to find natural gas in Indian basins, have estimated that 1,894 cubic meters of gas can […]

The Oil under Los Angeles

The development of oil in Texas produced, in its time, the four richest men in the world (H.L. Hunt, Sid Richardson, Roy Cullen and Clint Murchison) and the single richest acre of oil production at Kilgore but is not where the greatest number of productive fields of oil per acre, or perhaps the most expensive […]

Electric Company Of Saudi Arabia Warns Country May Run Out Of Oil By 2030

Sometimes we wish the oil minister of former OPEC member Saudi Arabia (“we can supply any amount of oil”), Wikileaks (“Saudi Said To Have Overstated Crude Oil Reserves By 300 Billion Barrels or 40%“), and now Saudi Arabia’s very own electricity company would coordinate their story. In a little noticed comment by Abdel Salam al-Yamani, […]

Exxon makes major oil discovery in Gulf

Exxon Mobil said Wednesday it has discovered an estimated 700 million barrels of oil equivalent at a deepwater well off the Louisiana coast, a major find that a top House Republican argued should push the administration to speed up offshore permitting. “This is one of the largest discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico in the […]

A note on Hubbert’s hypotheses and techniques

Many have attempted to forecast the date of the production peak and the volume of the ultimate reserves of a mineral commodity, using techniques derived from Hubbert’s thesis. This note aims at exploring the scientific foundations and therefore the scope of validity of these forecasting techniques. Looking at the basic assumptions of Hubbert’s thesis, it […]

PEMEX’s big new natural gas discovery

First in was Brazil, with PETROBRAS discovering vast offshore oil fields in the Santos Basin in the waters of the South Atlantic. Now it appears to be Mexico’s turn to strike it rich. Last week, Mexican oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) announced the discoveryof an area with natural gas production potential in deep waters in […]

Less than 50 Years of Oil Left, HSBC Warns

The world may have no more than half a century of oil left at current rates of consumption, while surging demand from the developing world threatens to create “very significant price rises” before substitutes like biofuels can serve as viable alternatives, the British bank HSBC warns in a new report. “We’re confident that there are […]

Denmark preparing to stake claim to North Pol

Denmark plans to lay claim to the North Pole and other areas in the Arctic, where melting ice is uncovering new shipping routes, fishing grounds and drilling opportunities for oil and gas, a leaked government document showed Tuesday. The draft document titled “Strategy for the Arctic” said Denmark’s Science Ministry has started collecting data to […]

A Former BP Exec Explains Why Peak Oil Is Real

This morning, President Obama announced plans to ease restrictions on oil and gas drilling in the U.S. and off its coasts. His move comes in the wake of recent gas prices, which may now be moderating slightly. But will it be enough? Former BP Chief Petroleum Engineer Jeremy Gilbert gave an excellent presentation on peak […]

Have humans created a new geological age?

Human civilisation developed in a cosy cradle.Over the last 11,700 years – an epoch that geologists call the Holocene – climate has remained remarkably stable.This allowed humans to plan ahead, inventing agriculture, cities, communication networks and new forms of energy.Some geologists now believe that human activity has so irrevocably altered our planet that we have […]

Peak Oil And The WikiLeaks Story That Got Away

On Thursday Ursula put up a short sharp post with a graphic that said it all. The petroleum party we have been enjoying for the last century has to end. And end it will, most likely sooner rather than later. To further the discussion along I want to raise the specter of a WikiLeaks story […]

EIA cancels 2011 US reserves compilation as it cuts budget

The US Energy Information Administration will not prepare or publish US oil and gas reserves data for 2011 as it cuts $15.2 million, or 14%, from its budget, the US Department of Energy information and analysis agency said on Apr. 29. The reductions are part of Congress’s latest continuing resolution that was signed into law […]

Petrobras Discovers More Oil in Brazil

Petrobras announced the discovery of a new oil accumulation in the Campos Basin pre-salt, through well 6-AB-119D-RJS drilled in the Albacora field, 107 km off the coast and only 3.2km from the FPSO P-31, by semisub Ocean Concord. Preliminary volume estimates indicate an economically recoverable volume potential of approximately 350 million barrels of good quality […]

Population, Peak oil and climate change Bruce Robinson

Population, Peak Oil and Climate Change and their effect on the Millennium Development Goals conference Canberra Australia. March 15-16 2008. Address by Bruce Robinson. ASPO (Australia). Peak Oil impact on the MDG’s.

Matthew Simmons on Peak Oil

Twilight in the Desert at ASPO USA Peak Oil conference at Boston University, Oct 27, 2006.

IEA: The age of cheap energy is over

The Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that curbing rising fossil fuel prices will require significant investments and further development and deployment of renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency, and advanced vehicles. Nobuo Tanaka noted that the renewed debate on nuclear energy could have an impact, not only on climate change but […]

US oil and gas reserve rates soar as costs fall on new technologies

New technologies are having a dramatic impact on a couple of key measures for US E&P efficiency according to a recent report by Oppenheimer’s Fadel Gheit, who finds reserve replacement rates rising as finding costs are falling. His study analyzes the reserve profiles for a group of 14 key E&Ps through 2010, noting that their […]

Hydrocarbons Deep Within Earth: New Computational Study Reveals How

A new computational study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals how hydrocarbons may be formed from methane in deep Earth at extreme pressures and temperatures. The thermodynamic and kinetic properties of hydrocarbons at high pressures and temperatures are important for understanding carbon reservoirs and fluxes in Earth. The work provides […]

Why The Decline In World Oil Supply Will Be Faster Than Anyone Expects

The man who invented peak oil, M. King Hubbert, got a few things wrong. Indeed, he was too optimistic. The Oil Drum’s Gail Tverberg pointed out some problems with the Hubbert Curve in a presentation this week at the 3rd Biophysical Economics Conference. Hubbert expected nuclear power to take over before oil reached peak. He […]

Peak Oil Theory

Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. This concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, and the combined production rate of a field of related oil wells

World shale gas resources assessed

Initial estimated technically recoverable shale gas resources in the 32 countries assessed in an Apr. 5 report is 5,760 tcf compared with the 862 tcf in the US. The report was commissioned by the US Energy Information Administration from Advanced Resources International Inc. (ARI). The report includes 48 shale gas basins in 32 countries, containing […]

PLENTY OF OIL: 1.4 TRILLION BARRELS, AND COUNTING

This is a sequel to a previous post on Peak Oil Revisited. Its main purpose is to examine the contrary view that the world has plenty of oil, and that the scenario of global upheaval due to rapid decline of oil supply is unwarranted. World Oil Reserves As of January, 2010 Figure 1- Proven World Reserves […]

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