Energy News for the WAP Network

I have been following several experts speaking out on the concept of "Peak Oil" for several years.  These are people like Colin Campbell and many others who have been sounding the alarm on oil but for many years their views were considered on the fringe and not taken seriously by mainstream media etc. even though they had good credentials (PHD degrees in geology and had spent their lives working for the Oil Giants such as Shell and BPP.  This page will contain links to issues on fossil fuels.  The following links on "Peak Oil" were considered fringe thinking 10 years ago but are not being discussed by congress as serious information.  The bottom line is if we are close to "Peak Oil" then this is good for WAP funding.   Enjoy

Also type "peak oil" into Google for many links. 

THE END OF CHEAP OIL

by Colin J. Campbell and Jean H. Laherrère,
Scientific American, March 1998

This is a great introduction on the issue of "Peak Oil"


Matt Savinar
 
I have a couple of links to articles by Matt Savinar.  Click Here for great two page article on the coming Oil Crisis and see below for info on who Matt is.
 
Who is Matt Savinar?
Matt Savinar was born and raised in California. He received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of California at Davis.  He received his law degree from the University of California at Hastings College of the Law, is a California licensed attorney.
 
He has appeared on numerous national and  international radio shows to discuss global Peak Oil, the ramifications of a declining oil supply, and what we can do to address our energy issues. His work has been quoted extensively on the floor of the United States Congress.
 
Matt currently resides in Santa Rosa, California and can be reached via email at matt@lifeaftertheoilcrash.net

Eating Fossil Fuels by Dale Allen Pfeiffer

Oil Crisis Website many links to various authors

Hubberts Peak Site

Assoc. for study of Peak Oil

Dry Dipstick Site

Links to many "Peak Oil" Websites

Chevron Dave O'Reilly, the chairman of ChevronTexaco: “The time when we could count on cheap oil and even cheaper natural gas is clearly ending.” Chevron has started a petroleum resource discussion on the WEB

A field guide to the coming fuel crunch by Brian Kaller


George Monbiot's book The Age of Consent a Manifesto for a New World Order is now published in paperback.  www.monbiot.com 

"The world's problem is as follows. We now consume six barrels of oil for every new barrel we discover. Major oil finds (of over 500m barrels) peaked in 1964. In 2000, there were 13 such discoveries, in 2001 six, in 2002 two and in 2003 none. Three major new projects will come on-stream in 2007 and three in 2008. For the following years, none have yet been scheduled.

The oil industry tells us not to worry the market will find a way of sorting this out. If the price of energy rises, new sources will come onstream. But new sources of what? Every other option is much more expensive than the cheap oil that made our economic complexity possible."

 


Saudi Arabian oil is not limitless and may become less abundant soon, according to Matt Simmons of Simmons & Company International.  As investment bankers to the petroleum industry, the firm gives Matt Simmons much credibility.  He has provided a new analysis of Saudi data.  With a world energy infrastructure "arterial and circulatory system" presentation, Simmons makes clear how dire is U.S. dependence on energy.  See his presentation in PDF format.


Global Public Media

Congressman Bartlett's Page

Great British site - http://wolf.readinglitho.co.uk/index.html

 

 

“It took us 125 years to use the first trillion barrels of oil,” notes Chevron Corporation’s two full-page ad that began appearing in July in the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, the Financial Times and elsewhere. “We’ll use the next trillion in 30,” the ad continues, thus quietly admitting to the Peak Oil that the industry has not previously disclosed publicly.

“One thing is clear: the age of easy oil is over,” the ad reveals in a folksy letter from “Dave”, Chevron’s Chairman and CEO David J. O’Reilly. Most Americans are still unaware of the pending Peak Oil or try to deny the tremendous impact it will have. Chevron proudly presents itself as “the Good Guy” by informing the public of the lessening supply of petroleum at a time when the demand is soaring, especially in China, India, and other industrializing countries.


From the American Chronicle Aug 16, 05

In 1940, we used about a barrel of oil to extract one hundred barrels. Today that same barrel only gets us ten barrels.

As the price of energy rises, so will the price of nearly everything that we eat or buy. Shipping costs will quickly double, as will the cost of packaging with plastic. Fertilizers and insecticides to produce food will more than double. Supermarkets will raise prices at first, and soon will offer a much smaller variety of product. Everything in our lives will have a much higher cost. Consumers around the world will have to tighten their belts.

It is not difficult to see that these inflationary conditions can quickly lead to a recession that may easily feed upon itself. An ensuing world depression is not out of the question.


ASPO's Website

Only 4 "super-giant" oilfields have been found outside the Middle East since 1960 (in Russia, China, Alaska and Mexico) and all of these - except China - are now in decline. Oil production is in decline in 33 of the 48 largest oil producing nations. Using improved technology often increases the rate of depletion. New finds tend to be smaller and deplete faster. Worldwide, estimated rates of depletion run as high as 8 percent per year.

EROEI. Energy Returned On Energy Invested means that the energy derived from exploration, production, refining, and transportation exceeds the energy consumed for these activities. We tend to forget. If the EROEI of any energy resource is 1 or less, then doing that activity no longer provides a net addition to our stockpile of energy.

The average EROEI of world oil production has been declining. I read somewhere that before 1950 the EROEI for oil was more than 100:1. By the 1970s it had dropped to 30:1, and by 2005 the average EROEI on new production had fallen to 10:1.  As we go for oil in increasingly difficult environments (deep under the ocean, open pit mining, etc.) the EROEI will decline further. We have to face the facts. Just because there is oil in the ground does not mean it is practical to extract. Every well has its cost in money AND energy. At some point the EROEI for every well will fall to less than 1, making oil from that well an impractical resource for energy.