Open Thread for "Peak Oil is 'A Waste of Energy'"

Today the NYTimes ran an Op-ed by Michael Lynch once again pointing out the “fallacious thinking behind the concept of Peak Oil.” (Do feel free to go over to the NYT and leave comments–and we hope you’ll point them back to the Oil Drum to some links that rebut Mr Lynch…)

The Oil Drum staff are crafting a rebuttal to the NYTimes, though if we go point by point to Mr. Lynch it will be a bit like Monty Python skit, “The Argument Clinic”, given he didn’t posit many facts. Below are some brief points to rebut Lynch:
1) Peak Oil has never been about the amount of hydrocarbon molecules that exist, but flow rates, timing and costs.

This post from 2007 gives a general overview of the differences between those concerned about a near term oil peak, and the unconcerned.

2) Reserves additions are backdated to date of discovery – even with that global discoveries peaked in 1960s and have declined every decade -we need to find oil before we produce it. Onshore oil production peaked in 1980 -all growth since then has come from offshore. 30 of the worlds 54 oil producing countries are past peak, with 10 flat or declining and only 12 increasing. etc.

The Oil Drum