by DantesPeak » Thu 08 Nov 2007, 10:45:51
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Bas', 'W')e have already left the era of cheap oil, but it still is relatively cheap compared to what it will be in a few years and beyond. Reserves running out? well, That question is not really relevant; we might be pumping a thousand barrels a day a thousand years from now.
The question one should ask, can we suck the oil out of the ground faster than we are doing now, while it gets harder to suck it out everyday? Possibly if all above ground factors where ideal we could have, but in that scenario we would have peaked in the past rather than in the future, though with a higher level of peak production. Either way, we're facing irreversable declines soon and a sudden change in political circumstances to an ideal situation now (however unlikely that is) would not give us much extra time in terms of delaying global decline of oil production.
Nice to hear they are showing clips from "A Crude Awakening", it really seems that the big 100 is going to wake up a lot of people......Better late than never.
Well put, it's hard to get a handle on just how much more difficult it is becoming to extract oil - but we know it is happening. In addition, there is a double effect here as refiners are having a difficult time coping with changes in oil quality, creating an additional physical limitation.
I also noticed that Europe is covering this issue much better than in the US, where the subject of PO is still considered a fringe issue.
It's already over, now it's just a matter of adjusting.