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A Review of Beyond
Oil, The View from Hubbert’s Peak
It has long been known by
geologists that the world’s oil supply is finite. Oil is not a renewable
resource and it is found in relatively limited geological environments
around the world. This is the subject of Beyond Oil, The View from
Hubbert’s Peak, by Kenneth S. Deffeyes, Professor Emeritus at
Princeton University published in 2005, (202 pages, hardcover, Hill &
Wang).
In general oil is found in a
zone called the oil horizon located between 7,500 feet and 15,000 feet
below the surface in organic rich sedimentary formations. Deeper than
that, the temperature of the rock is too hot for oil molecules to stay
together, and above that the hydrocarbons are not heated enough to
separate into crude oil. These organic rich sedimentary formations
comprise about 1% of the world’s rock formations. Sandstone, dolomite
and limestone form virtually all the host rock for oil production. In
addition, specific geologic structures are required to trap the oil.
According to Professor Deffeyes, seven specific criteria are required
for oil to be present in a particular location. Without any one of these
criteria, oil is not present, period.
While Saudi Arabia has the
largest annual production of oil, the United States and Russia are
second and third place according to Deffeyes. Saudi Arabia has 1,560
producing wells, Russia 41,192 wells and the United States has 521,070.
The United States is one of the most drilled and explored places in the
world.
Between 1901 and 2005, oil use
and production consistently increased, first in the United States and
then in the world. In 1956, M. King Hubbert, American geologist and
geophysicist, predicted the United States oil production would peak and
then start to decline by the early 1970s. When his predictions came
true, Hubbert became an instant folk hero among energy conservationists.
This became known as Peak Oil or the point when annual production of oil
reaches a maximum and then starts to decline. It can be diagrammed as a
bell shaped curve with a peak at the top.
Hubbert then turned his
calculations on world oil production and supply. His methods worked the
same way predicting the world oil supply as they did with the United
States supply. Essentially, world oil production peaked early in the 21st
century according to Hubbert.
Professor Deffeyes worked with
M. King Hubbert, and explains in detail the process that Hubbert used to
make these predictions. He discusses both oil and natural gas and the
implications of being on the downward side of Hubbert’s Peak. While
Hubbert used some very complex mathematics in his initial calculations,
Professor Deffeyes explains Hubbert’s calculations using relatively
simple mathematics. In fact, simple algebra forms the basis of his
analysis and it is understandable to many with a basis in high school
mathematics.
There is a lot of information
and disinformation about renewable energy. This book discusses many of
today’s energy sources and those of the foreseeable future. It dispels
many of the myths and disinformation about energy so glibly passed
around by a largely uninformed public, self serving political leaders
and a media hungry for ratings.
Because oil has played such a
large part of the world’s economy, it is in everyone’s best interest to
become informed about energy supplies and sources. Energy fuels such as
coal, geothermal, uranium and many of the so-called alternative energy
sources all will be impacted by the declining amount of oil available on
the downward side of the peak oil curve. This book is a must read for
anyone interested in learning more than the common platitudes about
energy and, in particular, oil.
H. Court Young
© 2007, H. Court Young
is the author of Understanding Water and Terrorism
and Understanding Water Rights and Conflicts, Second
Edition.
He is a writer, author and publisher writing about
water, security and terrorism issues. He is also an
eBook publisher with eBooks about meteorites, and World
War II. For more information visit
http://www.tmcco.com
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