Posted on 07/29/2010 6:53:23 AM PDT by Hojczyk
Matt Simmons, author of Twilight in the Desert, has long been one of the most famous and influential voices on the subject of peak oil. After the release of his book, Simmons rose to fame as Saudi Arabian oil production declined and global oil prices skyrocketed.
However, Simmons has lately been making hyperbolic claims related to the deepwater spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Based on the scenarios Simmons has outlined, he argues for responses such as using a nuclear explosion to seal the well and evacuating 20 million people from the Gulf Coast. Extraordinary responses such as these would impact a great many people, so The Oil Drum staff felt that a critical look at some of Simmons’ claims was in order.
(Excerpt) Read more at theoildrum.com ...
He is also a nut case proven wrong every time.
His 15 minutes of fame are long over.
And this is the guy banging the drum so loudly on “peak oil.”
I HATE Gov’t political and Media hype - Mad Cow, Global Warming, H1N1, Toyota, and BP Spill is just the latest. Anyone who feeds into it or tries to gain from it is public enemy #1. I don’t know enough about Simmons, but he may reach that level soon.
I think Matt Simmons had some good experience, and knowledge in the oil industry. I think he had some valid concerns about things getting out of control. Right now we ‘hope’ the well holds until it’s plugged properly.
HOWEVER, I think that Matt Simmons got quickly addicted to the publicity and attention, and now is forced to keep coming up with new ‘scares’, or his 15 minutes of fame will be over.
That is my impression, anyway.
TOD can be interesting to read, but is jam packed with peak oil nutburger pessimists and dystopian enviros.
Simmons has been a hero to them in the past. They are not to be taken seriously because their peak oil agenda makes them believe in all kinds of conspiracies.
It is my understanding that the Saudis have purposely cut back on oil production in order to preserve supplies for their future generations. I'll try to find a link for that.
Saudi King says keeping some oil finds for future
So it was for new oil fields, not cutting back on production as I thought.
Nevermind.
mos6507 on July 29, 2010 - 11:50am
Matt Simmons' days as a peak oil prophet were over after he predicted $200-300 oil in 2008 which was soon followed by oil prices tanking. If that wasn't enough, he made another prediction that "rust" in oil infrastructure would cause another superspike in less than two years. It didn't. Then he latches onto the BP disaster. Three strikes and you're out. Simmons has about as much relevance as Mel Gibson.
Key step to kill Gulf gusher may happen sooner ( Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill )
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