[Lokutus]

Okay, I'm engaged in a debate elsewhere with a guy whose attitude is "Don't worry. Be happy. PO is a lie."

He just posted this as evidence that PO is not real:

Proved reserves
(trillion cubic feet)
1. Russia 1,680.0
2. Iran 940.0
3. Qatar 910.0
4. Saudi Arabia 235.0
5. United Arab Emirates 212.1
6. United States 189.0
7. Nigeria 176.0
8. Algeria 160.5
9. Venezuela 151.0
10. Iraq 110.0
NOTE: Proved reserves are estimated with reasonable certainty to be
recoverable with present technology and prices. Source: Oil & Gas
Journal, Vol. 102, No. 47 (Dec. 10, 2004). From: U.S. Energy
Information Administration. http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/
petroleu.html .

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spratly_Islands
Part of the South China Sea Islands, the Spratlys are surrounded by
rich fishing grounds and gas and oil deposits, whose true extent are
unknown and disputed. The People’s Republic of China (PRC), the
Republic of China (Taiwan), and Vietnam each claim sovereignty over
the entire group of islands, while Brunei, Malaysia,and the
Philippines each claim various parts. Several of the nations involved
have soldiers stationed in the Spratlys and control various
installations on different islands and reefs.

Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah are home to an oil rich basin —

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Divide_Basin

The basin is considered one of the more promising locations for the
mining of uranium and many oil and natural gas wells are found in the
basin with more expected to be built. There is an ongoing debate
between those that wish to utilize the resources within the basin and
those that wish to see the basin become either a National Monument or
a designated U.S. Wilderness Area.

NPR did an on-air article recently on shale as did several
newspapers. Stay alert and listen to the news more. Do your own
homework next time; You're worse than an eight year old. The reef
stuff is common knowledge among the "explorer geologist" crowd.

PS Dubai is thinking of becoming a wind farm as its reserves are
exhausted.


~~

How do I respond? Has he identified anything new here? Prolly not.

[katkinkate]

How many cubic feet to a barrel?

[RonMN]

My advice...tell your friend he's right & sing "don't worry, be happy" with him.

It'll be one less person banging on your door, begging for food & water when the sh** hits the fan. Sorry if that sounds cruel or heartless, but people have to make their own decisions.

[ashurbanipal]

1) If he's talking cubic feet, he's probably talking about natural gas, not oil. Totally different discussion. No one that I'm aware of measures oil in cubic feet.

2) There's plenty of oil out there, more than we could use at current rates of consumption for a century or more. However, we will never recover the vast majority of it, because for every barrel of oil we burned to power the machinery to get it out, we'd only get half a barrel, or a quarter barrel, or less, out of the ground. As far as what is ultimately recoverable, a group of well-informed geologists believe that we'll be peaking soon.

3) After that, if he wants to deny it, let him. He'd be wrong to do so, but some people will not hear the truth, no matter what.

[aahala]

Ask him if he believes oil and NG on planet earth is finite. If he does,
then you can exchange evidence to determine when PO may occur and
at what level.

If he responds he believes fossel fuels are infinite, it's a waste of time
for further discussion. Nothing is gained by talking to a wingnut.

[MonteQuest]

Is he saying PO is not real or not imminent?

Is he disputing the theory or the date of actual peak?

[uNkNowN ElEmEnt]

What proof does he have of these "proven reserves"? Two major western companies have publicly restated their "proven reserves" downward. Kawait and Saudi Arabia have been shown to be fudging their figures.

Each OPEC producer is allowed to sell based on what their "proven reserves" are. If they say their reserve is greater than it is, that lets them sell more under the OPEC "agreement".

Most oil fields are developed for short term gain instead of long term investment. The methods they use mean that there will be waste and a certain percentage of unrecoverable oil left because of EROI. This is part of what most producers list as "proven reserves" not that they will be able to get at it or recover it becasue of the cost involved. Its all fudged.

[Lokutus]

Thanks, guys. I am drafting an email which will set him right.

[Ayoob]

Let' em live on in ignorance. Fugeddaboudit.

[some_guy282]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ayoob', 'L')et' em live on in ignorance. Fugeddaboudit.

[Lokutus]

I'm only going to the trouble of responding because the discussion is being held on a business mailing list with 500+ members.

If it was just a private argument between him and me, I would have walked away the first time he claimed that we have an infinite supply of oil.

[Chaparral]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ayoob', 'L')et' em live on in ignorance. Fugeddaboudit.

[VinceG]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('RonMN', 'I')t'll be one less person banging on your door, begging for food & water when the sh** hits the fan. Sorry if that sounds cruel or heartless, but people have to make their own decisions.

[coyote]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Chaparral', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ayoob', 'L')et' em live on in ignorance. Fugeddaboudit.