The Oil Drum | Energy Journal Roundup: April 2009

13 comments on Energy Journal Roundup: April 2009

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Eric Garza on April 21, 2009 - 11:46am

Really great list of articles. Thanks to those who put them together. One thing I'm constantly irritated by, though, is the idea that M. King Hubbert originated the idea of oil depletion and that oil depletion profiles would follow curves. Bardi's abstract above makes this claim, and I've seen it in many other places. He did not. The first record of this theory published in the peer-reviewed literature is from a USGS researcher named C. E. van Ostrand. The paper's reference is:

C. E. van Ostrand. (1925) On the empirical representation of certain production curves. Journal of the Washington Academy of Science 15(2): 19-33.

It's worth a read, and predates Hubbert's earliest publication on the topic of fossil fuel depletion by 25 years.

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Aniya on April 22, 2009 - 2:31am

Hi Eric,

Thanks for this reference.

I'm not one to say if TOD would run it, but it seems like an article about van Ostrand and his work would be interesting and worthwhile.
Perhaps you could write it up? (And quote sections of the paper.)

I'm wondering - was there much reaction to it at the time? Either in the named journal or elsewhere? Or, do you know?

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Nate Hagens on April 22, 2009 - 1:35pm

Yes - Eric - that would be good idea..;-)

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David L Hagen on April 22, 2009 - 5:03pm

Thanks Eric for the reference
It does not appear available on the web. Please make a PDF and post / link to van Ostrand's paper. e.g. at HubbertPeak.com

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13 comments on Energy Journal Roundup: April 2009

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