The Oil Drum

54 comments on Midweek Open Thread...

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Rick on October 20, 2005 - 5:01am

I think Simmons' big motivator is a search for the truth. Twilight in the Desert reads like a geeky detective story. It took a lot of work to find the raw material for the book, and a lot more to piece it together.

I think it's the same for many of us on TOD: the pieces of the oil puzzle simply don't fit together, and there is a need to make sense of it all. We're working to reduce cognitive dissonance every day. Some days are better than others.

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step back on October 20, 2005 - 7:15am

It took a lot of work to find the raw material for the book, and a lot more to piece it together.

A crucial part of the picture people are missing (IMHO) is that it does take a bold man, one who is willing to step away from the herd, and to step away from the "me and my private-profits" mentality.

Simmons is such a man.
Hubbert was such a man.

Think about it.
It is 1956.
For the last 100 years (since Drake in 1959) everybody in the oil business has been making money hand over foot by sticking to the basic script:

(1)Worry only about yourself,
(2)Find a geologically promising site;
(3)KEEP IT SECRET;
(4) Drill,
(5) Hit a big pot of luck underground and start pumping; and
(6) Repeat steps 1-6.

This is Adam Smith capitalism at its best.
What kind of maroon would step outside this box and start collecting data?
My gosh man, there are thousands of drill sites and everybody is happy in shit, making money. Why start messing things up, upsetting the apple cart, and asking questions? Have you no sense of decency? Have you no shame?

Such was the man named Hubbert.
Such is the man named Matt Simmons.

God bless him.