Who Has More Oil Reserves? Who Cares?

Investors and oil market watchers are constantly wondering just how much oil is in the ground. Just how large are each country’s oil reserves? The market seems to cycle between cries that we have reached “peak oil” (a term indicating the maximum rate of oil extraction after which oil extraction will permanently decline), and waves […]

World map of Peak Oil Production

This animated map is an excerpt from a conference presentation by Randy Park. It shows the peaking of oil production (peak oil) for countries around the world. It also shows oil consumption.

New Mega Oil Discovery In Alaska Could Reverse 3 Decades Of Decline

A small company just announced that it has made a “world-class” oil discovery in Alaska, which could be the largest find in the state in years. Caelus Energy LLC, a small company backed by private equity, says that it has discovered oil on Alaska’s northern coast. The field could hold as much as 6 billion […]

The Myth of the Anthropocene

To explore the messy future that modern industrial society is making for itself, it’s necessary now and again to stray into some of the odd corners of human thought. Over the decade and a bit that this blog has been engaged in that exploration, accordingly, my readers and I have gone roaming through quite an […]

Oh Oil, where is thy peak?

There are two great myths used in recent years to convince the world of imminent catastophe unless we drastically change our living style in the direction of austerity. Both myths are based on scientific fraud and uncritical propagation by sympatheic mainstream and even some alternative media. One is the idea that world climate is warming, […]

Where Hubbert Went Really Wrong On Peak Oil

If you happen to be interested in the topic of “peak oil”, you almost certainly know the name M. King Hubbert. While you may know that Hubbert is widely credited with accurately predicting the peak of U.S. oil production, you may not know the full context of his predictions — which are legendary in peak oil […]

Peak oil by any other name is still peak oil

One of the most compelling charts I have ever seen is the “Growing Gap” chart that used to appear in every ASPO Newsletter. This is the one from the last ASPO Newsletter, written by Colin Campbell and published in April 2009. Since then, more than seven years have passed, and peak oil has disappeared from […]

Apache’s West Texas Find Further Discredits Malthusianism

Apache Corp. has announced a major oil-and-gas discovery in an area of Texas that geologists previously dismissed as not likely to have recoverable hydrocarbons. That’s good news for energy consumers, including electric generators, although not particularly welcome for energy producers, where it could contribute to continuing soft prices. The Journal reported that the area in […]

See where Apache Corp. says it found billions of barrels of oil

Apache Corp. stock is among the top gainers this week after the energy company revealed an “immense” oil and gas reserve in a relatively unknown corner of west Texas. Apache APA, +0.90%  estimated that its more than 300,000 contiguous acres in the region holds about 3 billion barrels of oil and 75 trillion cubic feet […]

Peak oil by any other name is still peak oil

One of the most compelling charts I have ever seen is the “Growing Gap” chart that used to appear on the front page of every ASPO Newsletter. This is the one from the last ASPO Newsletter, written by Colin Campbell and published in April 2009. Since then, more than seven years have passed, and peak […]

Oil Discoveries at 70-Year Low Signal Supply Shortfall Ahead

Explorers in 2015 discovered only about a tenth as much oil as they have annually on average since 1960. This year, they’ll probably find even less, spurring new fears about their ability to meet future demand. New finds at lowest since 1947 and headed even lower: WoodMac Explorers replacing just 6% of resources they drill: Rystad Explorers in […]

Oil reserves and resources as function of oil price

BP Statistical Review: proved reserves not so proven We start with what most people will do, the BP Statistical Review (latest version June 2016). The review’s Excel file contains a work sheet named “Oil – proved reserves history”. Let’s put that into a graph. Oil: Proved reserves Fig 1: So-called proved reserve history in BP’s […]

Alice Friedemann: overview of peak oil, coal, and natural gas

  Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, Springer and “Crunch! Whole Grain Artisan Chips and Crackers”] Peak Oil Of all the resources in the world, oil is top dog.  All other resources depend on oil.  You can get every fish in the sea, drain every […]

Abiogenic Petroleum: Peak Oil and “Fossil Fuels” – Debunked

Episode 241 is a very important discussion regarding oil and so-called “fossil fuels” and “peak oil”, with Greg Quinones, titled: “Abiogenic Petroleum: Peak Oil and “Fossil Fuels” – Debunked”. This episode is being released for Thursday, December 03, 2015, and was recorded November 22. Greg Quinones is a business consultant, writer, public speaker, trainer and […]

India, U.S. Discover Major Natural Gas Reserve in Indian Ocean

  Find may significantly expand regional energy production Gas locked in hydrate formations may exceed all known supplies A joint expedition by India and the U.S. discovered a major deposit of natural gas in the Indian Ocean, offering the potential to significantly expand energy production in a region that’s currently a big importer. India’s Ministry […]

Drilling in the ‘Permian Mother Lode…for the Next 100, 150 Years

The Permian Basin is and will remain the key oil resource of the U.S. onshore because its deep and varied formations hold at least a century’s worth more of resource opportunities that eclipse any other part of the country, Pioneer Natural Resources Inc. CEO Scott Sheffield said Tuesday. “The Permian is the mother lode. You […]

why geo-engineering is a not a good idea

Geo-engineering is often regarded as something with no basis in reality that only conspiracy theorists and loons believe exists. However, it is indeed very real. In fact, geo-engineering has been looked at as a way to control the weather for decades. In fact, John F. Kennedy first suggested the development of new technology to control […]

M. King Hubbert and the future of peak oil

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 life has now been chronicled by science writer Mason Inman in a new biography entitled The Oracle of Oil. Depending upon whom […]

Link between U.S. oil drilling and rise in earthquakes

Stopping an earthquake before it starts? It sounds like a feat possible only for a superhero. But in Kansas and Oklahoma state policymakers are showing that insofar as humans are causing earthquakes, they can stop them, too. After restricting oil and natural gas operations in certain hotspots, Oklahoma is feeling an average of about two […]

Controversy over Saudi oil reserves

Rystad Energy, a small Norwegian oil and gas data firm released a contentious study several days ago, which concluded the US held more recoverable oil reserves than both Saudi Arabia and Russia. Although Rystad underlined that “more than 50 per cent of remaining [American] oil reserves is unconventional shale oil,” with an estimated 60 billion […]

Death Of Peak Oil Is Not Exaggerated

Energy: A recent report by an energy consultancy suggests that the U.S. now has oil reserves bigger than Saudi Arabia’s. Believe it or not, that might be a huge understatement. The Rystad Energy consultancy’s latest estimates for U.S. oil reserves says the U.S. may have as many as 264 billion barrels of the crude stuff, […]

US oil reserves larger than those of Saudi Arabia or Russia

The United States has overtaken industry giants Saudi Arabia and Russia in recoverable oil reserves, an international study released Monday says. The U.S. is sitting on 264 billion barrels, 8 billion barrels more than Russia and 52 billion more than Saudi Arabia, the dominant member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), according to […]

The Carbonate Solution

Beyond the “brute force” approach that I wrote about last week, I want to cover three other ways to exploit the chemistries of common carbonate minerals for large scale carbon capture and storage. They are less direct, and each has its own issues, but all three are much more energy-efficient than brute force calcination of […]

Huge Discovery For Hess, Exxon; $70 Billion At Current Prices

Later, 7:45 p.m. Central Time: this ExxonMobil – Guyana story is getting a lot of press. This may be quite a story: ExxonMobil and its partner Hess Corp. have announced that the major discovery off the coast of Guyana, is a discovery that is much larger than previously expected. The Liza field could turn out […]

Remember Peak Helium and the $150 party balloon?

Remember Peak Everything? It seems that a few years ago that’s all we wrote about on TreeHugger, Peak Oil, Peak Water and yes, Peak Helium. The use of helium for frivolous things like party balloons and inflatable Kermits was particularly galling, since it was also needed for scientific uses and for superconductors in MRI machines. […]

Decline and depletion rates of oil production: a comprehensive investigation

Abstract Two of the most fundamental concepts in the current debate about future oil supply are oilfield decline rates and depletion rates. These concepts are related, but not identical. This paper clarifies the definitions of these concepts, summarizes the underlying theory and empirically estimates decline and depletion rates for different categories of oilfield. A database […]

Southern California Time Bomb: The Ground Surrounding The San Andreas Fault Is ‘Rising And Sinking’

If you reside on the west coast, you are living on borrowed time.  As you will see below, stress has been building up along the San Andreas fault for more than a century, and scientists tell us that southern California is way overdue for a major earthquake.  When that stress is finally released, the U.S. […]

Hindsight 10 Years After Peak Oil

All views expressed here are those of Verwimp Bruno and do not necessarily represent those of WAKE UP HOMOSAPIENS. 1. Introduction Peak Oil is the moment in time when, on a global scale, the maximum rate of oil production is reached. The moment after which oil production, by nature, must decline forever. Since Earth is a closed […]

Why Billions in Proven Shale Oil Reserves Suddenly Became Unproven

Ultra Petroleum Corp. was a shale success story. A former penny stock that made the big leagues, it was worth almost $15 billion at its 2012 peak. Then came the bust. Almost half of Ultra’s reserves were erased from its books this year. The company filed for bankruptcy on April 29 owing $3.9 billion. Ultra’s […]

California Fault Lines And The Area Around Yellowstone Are Shaking Like Crazy

Over the past few days the mainstream media has been fixated on the largest mass shooting in U.S. history, but meanwhile there has been highly unusual seismic activity along major fault lines in California and near the Yellowstone supervolcano. Let’s talk about Yellowstone first.  In recent months, the big geysers have been behaving very strangely and […]

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