Vital Trivia

On 10th and 11th of November 2005 ASPO USA held a conference titled Beyond Oil: Intelligent Response to Peak Oil Impacts.

I’ll just reproduce the key messages of the conference here and link to the absolutely fantastic coverage of the event from Stuart Staniford of The Oil Drum.

Key Messages:
1. A peak in world oil production is imminent, likely within 10 years. We’re not “running out.” Oil will continue to be produced for many decades to come, albeit in smaller quantities. But since oil provides nearly 40% of world energy, peak oil will be a significant turning point in human history, with far-reaching consequences.
2. Growth in world energy demand will continue to escalate. The demand for energy in countries like China and India is growing rapidly. This is likely to continue, even in the face of higher petroleum prices.
3. The end of cheap oil. As we approach the peak, oil prices will trend higher. The transportation of people, food, and manufactured goods relies on inexpensive oil. What will peak oil mean for the nation’s $575 billion travel and tourist industries? To land use and development patterns? To world trade?
4. Reducing the impacts. Citizens, corporations, cities, and states can take intelligent actions now to prepare for more expensive petroleum and to mitigate the negative impacts of peak oil. Public-private leadership and energy education are essential.

The slides from the event are available here.

The Oil Drum Coverage:
Further information and an introduction into some new peak oil advocates like Tom Petrie and Jeremy Gilbert is available at The Oil Drum.

Tom Petrie is CEO and Co-founder of Petrie, Parkman and Co, a boutique investment bank in the oil industry. His company is basically a competitor to Simmons Co, and has offices in Denver and Houston. As such his presentation was extremely interesting, not because he said anything profoundly surprising to someone who has been following Peak Oil, but because he shed a great deal of light on the question: is Matt Simmons isolated in his views within the energy investment banking community? Answer: no.

Jeremy Gilbert is the recently retired chief Petroleum Engineer of BP, and a delightfully accented Irishman with a lifetime of experience in the oil industry. If Tom Petrie proved “Matt Simmons is not alone”, then Jeremy Gilbert proved “Colin Campbell is not alone either” as a long standing senior technical figure in the oil industry who believes in Peak Oil.

ASPO-USA Denver Conference Report (Thursday)

ASPO-USA Denver Conference Report (Friday)

This post was written by Chris Vernon