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Well Keith, have you ever heard of ANWR? That was the next development after Prudhoe Bay and that was going to keep the Alaska pipeline full. After that there were more federally controlled lands that were going to keep it full. Thats when they stopped it. Prudhoe is contributing less and less and this will continue over the next 50 yrs. Had the development continued in an orderly fashion we wouldnt need North Dakota right now and the world probably wouldnt be after the shales. The shales are a gift of peak oil politics just as the war and mayhem of the middle east are.
The peak politics politcal constituency that I speak of includes enviros, peak oil people, climate change groups, liberal and left leading big government types, tax and spend liberals, solar panel companies, the nuclear industry, wind industry, hunt and gatherer types and probably survivalist as well, among others.
The peak oil politics continues up there today. Just this month the Obama admin took over 50% of Alaskas remaining federally controlled mineral resources off line. Over 90% of Alaska is under federal control. Here is a link if you want to know why oil prices are high:
http://newmediajournal.us/indx.php/item/6478Just imagine all of that oil kept off limits since Jimmy Carter and the Shales!!!
Just imagine 1 mill/B/D flowing into a huge refinery in North Dakota, out of federal control and the other 18 million flow the way they used to. Your gas prices would fall.
Our oil imports will never fall to zero, but they are falling and will fall further. Its our exports that will keep the net falling. Production will keep peak oil in the realm of radical thought unsported by nothing more than emotional conviction.
Production charts will continue straight up, monetary policy and its effects on the diminishing value of the dollar will continued to be used as proof of diminishing supply even in the face of increasing supply and known reserves! But facts are winning. The USGS just tripled the inventory in North Dakota you know and they are as conservative as they come,
This will all have an effect on the websites focus. Eventually the good news will be embraced as fact overcomes and wins the day. Everyone will celebrate, Wide Spread Panic will play. Phish will make a guest appearance. The oil companies will be honored and celebrated. The web site will host a panel of those that correctly saw the future and everyone will cheer!! RM will give us all a chance to "buy-in" to a play.

Production charts will not "continue straight up" because as you already pointed out, we are looking at an increase of 1 to 2 Mb/d for total global production every few years, and likely not indefinitely.
Meanwhile, demand has to go up by up to 2 Mb/d a year just to maintain economic growth.