The Oil Drum: The Peak of Light Sweet Crude?

Vital Trivia recently made a fascinating claim that light sweet crude has passed its peak production. If true, this is a very significant milestone in the peak oil story, and strong evidence for the idea that there is a near-term peak in total liquids production. But is it true? Let’s take a closer look.
Unfortunately, public data for the history of light sweet crude production seems to be almost non-existent. The case at the moment is based on some data on page three of the August Opec Monthly Oil Market Report.

A careful analysis of the numbers reveals some serious problems, however. Here’s basically what it gives for global production…

More after the jump to the new digs of The Oil Drum.