by Typhoon » Thu 17 Nov 2005, 12:57:03
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Leanan', 'F')ascinating analysis over at The Oil Drum today:
http://www.theoildrum.com/story/2005/11/16/182053/32Stuart Staniford crunches some numbers and comes to the conclusion that the actual depletion rate of existing oil fields is not the 3% often claimed, but closer to 8%. Possibly more.
Just something picky...don't say "depletion rate". Say "decline rate". 5% depletion would mean that 5% of initial reserves was extracted in a given year. 5% decline of course refers to an actual 5% decline in the production rate.
Yes, that analysis was very fascinating. I've felt that April 2005 could have been the peak. I think we might make it a few more years, but we are basically on a plateau if we haven't already peaked. There doesn't seem to be enough incremental oil to meet projected demand growth, even in 2006. The crude builds in the U.S. were an illusion due to the refineries that were knocked out. I think we've seen the bottom in prices. Yesterday's rally was impressive.