Twilight in the Desert (Oil Crisis)

Financial Sense ^ | 8/6/05 | Mathew Simmons

[wotan]

JIM PUPLAVA: Joining me on the program is Matthew Simmons. He’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Simmons & Company International, a Houston-based investment bank that specializes in the energy industry. Mr. Simmons serves on the boards of Brown-Forman Corporation, The Atlantic Council of The United States, he’s also a member of the National Petroleum Council and The Council of Foreign Relations. He has an MBA from Harvard University. And he’s here to discuss his new book Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy.

Matt, I want to start out the discussion from the back of your book in Appendix B. Several years ago you did a study of the world’s major oil fields. What did you find?

[wotan]

For what it's worth, when I see Simmons on CNBC he seems like a very level headed character.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Bookmarked. I read some of it, and I'll finish at a later time.

I found the interview, so far, very interesting. So far, I haven't seen anything about shale oil or tar sands. I know shale oil is more expensive to extract, and I suspect that while the era of plentiful oil may still be here, the era of cheap oil is over.

[wotan]

I suspect that while the era of plentiful oil may still be here, the era of cheap oil is over.

I agree. Simmons' belief that oil could rise by a factor of 5 to 10 sounds totally unrealistic. Even if there isn't plenty of oil available at $100/bbl, it is hard to believe we won't see dramatic results of energy conservation before we get anywhere near $300/bbl.