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67 comments on ASPO Houston - a comment

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Byron Walter on October 23, 2007 - 3:01pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top


OPEC:
We in Opec do not subscribe to the peak-oil theory.

Acting Secretary General of Opec, Mohammed Barkindo
July 11, 2006

But then a subscription isn't required, as we will all receive complimentary copies, free of charge.

Oops, I have to add a comment. Recently I talked with gentleman that sells "substrate catalysts" to the petroleum refining industry. He spends much time in Venezuela, Texas, Russia, etc). I mentioned that global oil production seems to have little excess reserve capacity and that it appeared that peak production is either here or nearly so. He seemed surprised and apparently had never given a thought to such a possibilty. And he's in the business.

I hope to continue this coversation with him at a later date.

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abelardlindsay on October 23, 2007 - 6:08pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

He seemed surprised and apparently had never given a thought to such a possibilty. And he's in the business.

I've talked to two people who are in the industry about Peak Oil. A chemical engineer for Chevron said that peak oil was a plausible theory. Another guy I met who was an international oil deal broker, who had done a lot of oil contract negotiation in Russia said that we'll see more hybrids over the next 10 or so years and then things would start to get interesting after that.

So the ocean has gone way out, the fish are flopping around on the beach and some people are saying that something may be amiss. Only a few "lunatics" from the oil drum are running around screaming about heading for higher ground.

When people underestimate the scale of the peak oil problem I tell them that it is a civilizational scale problem and since it took us 100 years to get into this mess, it will probably take us a while to get out of it.

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Byron Walter on October 23, 2007 - 8:30pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I'm glad to hear that there are some folks in the field that "get it". Too bad that our leadership seems so inattentive. I work in the medical racket and see first hand how effective public education and price rationing have been at decreasing the percentage of the public that smokes. As for PO, we will certainly get the price rationing component. Now pardon me while I investigate a dead fish:)

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Seadragon on October 23, 2007 - 10:16pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Recently, I came across, in my line of work, a gentleman who described himself as a geophysicist. I inquired what kind of work he did for his Canadian company and he stated "I find oil." Of course, I took the opportunity to ask him, briefly, about various topics...his answers were thus:
1. The world: has already peaked. Reasoning: "there are no more 'elephants' left."
2. Mexico: plenty left to find (we were clearly speaking of offshore).
3. Saudi Arabia: will never produce more than 10m/bpd. Reasoning: see "the world."
4. Canada: can produce at the contemporary level for 100+ years (but cannot increase production). Comment: "we're building nuclear" to replace natural gas to power it.

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67 comments on ASPO Houston - a comment

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