Peak Oil Production & the journey down to empty?

[ArabiaTerra]

Peak oil is here.

[skaterboy]

If that is true AT then maybe du'll stop pleapsing on about global warming, as oil production goes down so will CO2 emissions.

Problem solved so please had de wheesht

[Carlos]

If we are at the peak it means half the oil has gone and if half the fossil CO2 has created a problem the other half will likely not help too much.

On the other hand if production has peaked the economic effects will start to dominate the issue....

[ArabiaTerra]

If that is true AT then maybe du'll stop pleapsing on about global warming, as oil production goes down so will CO2 emissions.

Problem solved so please had de wheesht

Hah! I wish it were that simple.

 

As the easily accessible oil is used up, oil companies will seek to exploit more unconventional sources such as shale oil, tar sands and coal gasification, all of which are far more destructive than simply pumping the stuff out of the ground. Unless we start taking the switch to alternatives like electric or hydrogen powered transportation seriously then peak oil will make the AGW problem worse.

 

Anyway, the bulk of CO2 emissions come from burning coal, and there's no shortage of that.

[skaterboy]

for unconventional do you mean more expensive therefor pricing oil and it derivatives out of the range of most folks thus reducing use and emissions.

[Carlos]

Peak coal - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_coal

Research in 2009 by the University of Newcastle in Australia concluded that global coal production could peak sometime between 2010 and 2048.

although 2150-2200 is a more conservative estimate.

[ArabiaTerra]

for unconventional do you mean more expensive therefor pricing oil and it derivatives out of the range of most folks thus reducing use and emissions.

No, I mean massively more polluting*, though these sources do require a high oil price to make them economical to develop. The price at the moment is high enough to make development of the Alberta tar sands economic, so huge areas of the territory are being devastated to get at this oil.

 

* To extract oil from the tar sands, you have to "cook" it with steam produced by burning natural gas to boil the oil out. This produces CO2 from the gas and huge quantities of polluted water. A nasty business all round.

[Gorgonzola Butt-cheese]

The only point at which it will stop is when it takes a barrel to produce a barrel.

You are fooling yourself if you think fossil fuel use is going to end anytime soon.

[ArabiaTerra]

A good film on the subject of peak oil.

 

http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/blind_spot/

[ArabiaTerra]

Wikileaks reveal that Saudi reserves have been massively overstated:

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2011/feb/10/peak-oil-saudi-reserves

 

http://climateprogress.org/2011/02/09/wikileaks-peak-oil-saudi-arabia-reserves-overstated/

 

And a more detailed analysis from The Oil Drum:

 

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/7465

[PJ of Hildisvik]

Brief history of Saudi Arabia...

 

Camels.../ Cadilacs & 757's../ Camels. LOL !

[Guest Anonymous]

there is a big difference between production rates and reserves, could saudi open the taps and produce a lot more oil? yes . would it ruin the reservoir and reduce the overall production of the field if they did? yes.

The saudis have finally learned how oil wells work, before believing everything you read on the internet maybe you should too.

[Carlos]

But isn't that the main point about Peak Oil - peaking of the achievable production rates?

[ArabiaTerra]

The government seems to be finally waking up:

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/mar/03/chris-huhne-oil-prices-green-economy

[PJ of Hildisvik]

Just out of interest AT, when did your 10 year countdown to "Armageddon" begin.

Just so i know when to move to higher ground or was that underground? Decisions, decisions