The view from the vangard of a natural gas revolution

What’s wrong with some of the technology currently being used to produce shale gas?

T. Boone Pickens was saying that the U.S. is the Saudi Arabia, except with natural gas. I’m not sure that he’s right. The reserve recovery rates might be way, way lower than what the major companies had predicted they would be. The wells are falling off quicker than expected, things like that.

…Given what you know about new extraction technologies, what do you think of the peak oil argument?

I think peak oil is a very real concept. Exxon has put a note out that by 2030 there will be a 35-per-cent increase in energy requirements. That’s massive. I’m not sure our industry can provide that. [Technology has] improved our ability to bring marginal reserves on. But remember, now they’re drilling marginal reserves. Where do they go after this?

Globe and Mail