Got the slideshow with audio for each slide. My recommendation is skip it all and go right to the Q&A slide 20. In the Q&A, all the questions I would have asked were asked. Honestly, I can't believe people pay money for this!

For some country-by-country production numbers see Some comments on the Cambridge Energy analysis of future oil supplies from Econbrowser and HO's More thoughts on the CERA report from the old website.

Comments:
  • On demand growth -- looks like they project 1.4/mbd/year up to and including 2010. When asked, they said that Chinese growth will moderate and last year's large surge was an anomaly. Look at the demand curve in slide 17 -- looks like total demand is about 92 mbd in 2010.

    Note that demand growth is currently not moderating much under higher prices this year. Yet CERA also projects prices to be in the upper $30s 2007 and 2008, upward after 2008 (over $40). These prices will result in greater demand growth, not less.
  • On depletion -- they do not use an average global depletion percentage but calculate on a field by field basis. But how that is done was not specified. Something about a fractal curve? HO?

    However, an Encana guy asked them why their 2000 report indicated that there would be more supply (~ 2/mbd) than there currently is, so why should we believe this new study? Fumble, cough, cough, hedge....
  • They have a Delay and Disruption scenario (above ground "disturbances") -- see slide 17 for the supply curve.

    This was recorded in July with no Katrina is sight. Note that they are very optimistic toward deep water drilling -- GOMEX, Brazil, Angola and Mauritania!!! By the way there was a coup in Mauritania in July.
More later.
There is a big field development off the coast of Angola; one of the majors, can't remember at present. Believe it ultimately is supposed to reach 500 kb/d. That's probably what they are banking on there.

Re the Encana guy... yay! I like those folks, good for them for speaking up.

One quick comment re: demand response.  Dave phrased it precisely right when he said there was no moderating effect "currently".  We all know how price inelastic oil demand is (de-jargonized: demand doesn't change much in response to a change in price), but that's true only over the short run.  If prices stay high we'll see consumption patterns change and overall demand drop.

I know, I keep harping here about timing, but it's critical to understand how it relates to price elasticity.  It took decades of living with absurdly cheap oil fo rthe US to work its way into our horribly inefficient oil consumption patterns.  Under pressure from high prices we can adjust much quicker, but it will take a year or two for real change to show up.

By the way, someone else here commented the other day that people were driving slower than normal.  My wife and I noticed that over the last few days, too, in upstate NY.  We had to run a quick errand today, and I also noticed a much higher percentage of smaller cars on the road than normal.  I wonder if it's simply that multiple-car households are using the most efficient vehicle available--the Civic runs to the grocery store and the pickup truck or SUV sits in the garage.