Peak Oil Coming Soon?

[rjl]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/08/saudi-oil-reserves-overstated-wikileaks

http://www.fastcompany.com/1725372/wikileaks-may-have-just-confirmed-the-existence-of-peak-oil?partner=rss

From Wikileaks comes a new story (The Guardian UK and Fast Company versions linked to above) that states Saudi Arabia's oil reserves may have been grossly overstated, and that "peak oil"--the point at which global petroleum production has reached its maximum capacity--may hit as early as 2012.

For those who don't understand what that means, simple economics states that when supply suddenly becomes stagnant, with no hope for any significant increase ever, yet demand keeps rapidly increasing, costs skyrocket.

If true, this is really serious stuff.

So, aside from getting out of the Middle East and global climate change, the US has another reason to immediately pursue alternative energy to ensure its national security.

[WstateU]

Hell with the Saudis... drill baby drill!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=ayj1uo_gdNI4&pid=newsarchive

http://oilshalegas.com/bakkenshale.html

[rjl]

You're fond of speaking with pictures, so don't you think that...

drill baby drill!

=



?

[WstateU]

You're fond of speaking with pictures, so don't you think that...

drill baby drill!

=



?

Hey, that's sick! :(

[SubGod22]

Until alternative energy is cost efficient and words well enough, we have to have oil. Our own oil would be greater than importing it from many of the nations that we do.

New Drilling Method Opens Vast U.S. Oil Fields

A new drilling technique is opening up vast fields of previously out-of-reach oil in the western United States, helping reverse a two-decade decline in domestic production of crude.

Companies are investing billions of dollars to get at oil deposits scattered across North Dakota, Colorado, Texas and California. By 2015, oil executives and analysts say, the new fields could yield as much as 2 million barrels of oil a day -- more than the entire Gulf of Mexico produces now.

This new drilling is expected to raise U.S. production by at least 20 percent over the next five years. And within 10 years, it could help reduce oil imports by more than half, advancing a goal that has long eluded policymakers.

Because oil molecules are sticky and larger than gas molecules, engineers thought the process wouldn't work to squeeze oil out fast enough to make it economical. But drillers learned how to increase the number of cracks in the rock and use different chemicals to free up oil at low cost. "We've completely transformed the natural gas industry, and I wouldn't be surprised if we transform the oil business in the next few years too," says Aubrey McClendon, chief executive of Chesapeake Energy, which is using the technique.

Petroleum engineers first used the method in 2007 to unlock oil from a 25,000-square-mile formation under North Dakota and Montana known as the Bakken. Production there rose 50 percent in just the past year, to 458,000 barrels a day, according to Bentek Energy, an energy analysis firm.

It was first thought that the Bakken was unique. Then drillers tapped oil in a shale formation under South Texas called the Eagle Ford. Drilling permits in the region grew 11-fold last year.

Now newer fields are showing promise, including the Niobrara, which stretches under Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas; the Leonard, in New Mexico and Texas; and the Monterey, in California.

Environmentalists fear that fluids or wastewater from the process, called hydraulic fracturing, could pollute drinking water supplies. The Environmental Protection Agency is now studying its safety in shale drilling. The agency studied use of the process in shallower drilling operations in 2004 and found that it was safe.

Within five years, analysts and executives predict, the newly unlocked fields are expected to produce 1 million to 2 million barrels of oil per day, enough to boost U.S. production 20 percent to 40 percent. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates production will grow a more modest 500,000 barrels per day.

By 2020, oil imports could be slashed by as much as 60 percent, according to Credit Suisse's Morse, who is counting on Gulf oil production to rise and on U.S. gasoline demand to fall.

At today's oil prices of roughly $90 per barrel, slashing imports that much would save the U.S. $175 billion a year. Last year, when oil averaged $78 per barrel, the U.S. sent $260 billion overseas for crude, accounting for nearly half the country's $500 billion trade deficit.

[SB Shock]

Re: Peak Oil Coming Soon?

If true, this is really serious stuff.

So, aside from getting out of the Middle East and

That is the real question, is it true. It is to the ME nations advantage to make everyone think it is true so they can push up oil prices.

global climate change,

at least you didn't say "global warming". But I wonder if this is the newest tactic for the the Al Gore crowd since real science is showing them to be committing science malpractice. We all know weather is always changing so there must be a man-made reason for it - right? :roll:

the US has another reason to immediately pursue alternative energy to ensure its national security.

Geothermal - limited to western u.s. due to temperatures needed

Solar power is pretty much limited to the SW US due to sun amount throughout the year otherwise to costly

Wind power - has specific locations where it is viable. Also communities will fight tooth and nail to keep wind farms out.

Biomass - but I'm still wondering if this is really a net plus (maybe if cultivating of crops used hydrogen fuel instead of fossil-fuels?)

Hydrogen fuel - progress has been made, but still alot of R&D is needed to move this forward. Will require huge infrastructure changes (i.e. $$)

There is only really one viable alternative energy source right now and that is nuclear power. When was the last nuclear power plant built in the U.S.?

[WstateU]

Re: Peak Oil Coming Soon?

If true, this is really serious stuff.

So, aside from getting out of the Middle East and

That is the real question, is it true. It is to the ME nations advantage to make everyone think it is true so they can push up oil prices.

global climate change,

at least you didn't say "global warming". But I wonder if this is the newest tactic for the the Al Gore crowd since real science is showing them to be committing science malpractice. We all know weather is always changing so there must be a man-made reason for it - right? :roll:

the US has another reason to immediately pursue alternative energy to ensure its national security.

Geothermal - limited to western u.s. due to temperatures needed

Solar power is pretty much limited to the SW US due to sun amount throughout the year otherwise to costly

Wind power - has specific locations where it is viable. Also communities will fight tooth and nail to keep wind farms out.

Biomass - but I'm still wondering if this is really a net plus (maybe if cultivating of crops used hydrogen fuel instead of fossil-fuels?)

Hydrogen fuel - progress has been made, but still alot of R&D is needed to move this forward. Will require huge infrastructure changes (i.e. $$)

There is only really one viable alternative energy source right now and that is nuclear power. When was the last nuclear power plant built in the U.S.?

:good: :good:

Oil, oil, oil; of course I could be partial since I’ve made my living the past 40 years in the oil business. :D


Drill here…






There’s nothing wrong with exploring the alternative energy sources that you’ve listed; however not with government subsidies. Ethanol is an example of one of the biggest alternative energy jokes of all time (I probably shouldn't get started on ethanol). Without government subsidies, ethanol would have been extinct a long time ago. IMO, the "global warming" environmental wacko (tree huggers) are the root cause of high oil prices. Again, I say, drill, drill, drill!

[WstateU]

The Myth of "Peak Oil".

"The solution actually lies within the US. Actually, within Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. For we have 276+ YEARS of 100% of our oil needs within those three States alone."

http://thewaronprosperity.com/the-economy/the-myth-of-peak-oil/

[Veritas]

Here is an additional oil resource just north of the border.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4649580.stm

Mideast countries need to figure out a way to invest in their infrastructure before their oil is all gone and nobody pays any more attention to them.

[1979Shocker]

Re: Peak Oil Coming Soon?

Solar power is pretty much limited to the SW US due to sun amount throughout the year otherwise to costly

This is not necessarily the case.

Solar Panels In Cold Climates

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to live in a hot climate in order to benefit from clean renewable energy sources such as solar power. In fact solar panels convert sunlight into electricity more effectively in colder temperatures.

This phenomenon is due to the fact that the colder a material is, the better it will conduct electricity. Therefore, solar panels will produce less electricity in a hot climate than in a cold climate given that the amount of sunlight is equal.

It is true that colder climates tend to have less sunlight than hotter climates, but the reduced availability of sunlight is offset by the increased efficiency of solar panels in colder temperature.

A good example of this principle in action is the Photovoltaic Solar Power Plant in Colorado, near Alamosa. It is home to one of the largest photovoltaic solar plants currently operating in the United States.