Posted on 10/06/2014 1:30:37 PM PDT by Kaslin
The Wall Street Journal ran an article recently exploring why the Peak Oil Predictions had not come true. Written by Russell Gold, the Journal’s senior energy reporter based in Austin, Texas, who himself released his first book called “The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World”, the article was an excellent walk through the ups and downs of the oil industry going back even to the late 1800’s.
For example, did you know that John D. Rockefeller’s partner in Standard Oil, John Archbold, said, “I will drink every gallon (of oil) produced west of the Mississippi”, and so feared the boom was going to bust that he sold some of his stock at a discount?
As Gold points out, the modern Peak Oil theory was the brainchild of M. King Hubbert, a geologist who worked for Shell Oil. Published in 1956, Hubbert predicted that domestic oil production would peak, somewhere in the early to mid 1970’s, then decline, forming a bell curve. Up from the 50’s to the 70’s, then right back down again.
His theory was looking pretty darned good during the Arab oil embargo, as millions of American’s struggled to fuel their lifestyles after OPEC grabbed America by our collective nuts and showed us who was boss. It was also looking pretty spot-on as recently as 2007/2008 when oil prices shot up to nearly $140 a barrel and some forecasters were predicting $200 or beyond.
Then came fracking. A technology invented by Texas oilman George Mitchell (who also was the conceiver and developer of The Woodlands, north of Houston, soon to be home to Exxon Mobil), which totally changed the world’s energy playing field.
Since it became fully commercially viable around 2008, fracking has unleashed oil and gas that was trapped in these ultra-dense shale formations. Resources that everyone knew was there, but trapped in rock so dense that nobody could figure out how to extract it.
Here’s another prediction. This one by Chris Faulkner of Breitling Energy, and co-host of Powering America Radio: That the US will surpass Saudi Arabia in oil production next year, at 9.5 million barrels. You can hear his prediction on the September 29 show here.
But the naysayers are still as vocal as ever. Some say the shale revolution will putz out soon and is only a temporary blip on the otherwise declining scale of dwindling supply. Remember Mr. Archbold? I think he’d have a pretty tough time swallowing the nearly 4 million barrels of oil a day now flowing from the West of the Mississippi.
I wonder if anyone in his family has any old Standard Oil stock certificates framed & hanging on the wall.
Powering America Radio is heard daily on the Wall Street Business Network at 4:00 Eastern and is co-sponsored by Crude Energy, LLC and Breitling Energy Corporation.
Oil is God’s thermostat.
Technology has always been the way the oil industry advance.
from cable tool drilling to rotary tool drilling,
from topographic features prospecting to seismic,
from land only all the way to deep water,
and now from gushers to shale formations,
innovation finds a way.
We have produced far less than 10% of all known hydrocarbon accumulations.
The amount left is staggering.
God’s gift is virtually limitless.
Only malicious acts like promoting green energy will hold us back to enjoying the best lifestyle on this planet.
BUMP
There was some kind of “prophets of doom” show on the History channel this weekend. I turned to it for a bit, and there was a guy talking about “Peak Oil” and how the most oil we ever produced in the US was in the 70’s and we would never produce that much ever again. I just laughed and laughed!
George Mitchell didn’t invent fracing as it has been around since the 1940’s. He was the first to frac the Barnett Shale. And ExxonMobil is building their headquarters across Spring Creek in Harris County in Hughes Landing, not in Montgomery County in The Woodlands.
Lots of bad info in there:
Since it became fully commercially viable around 2008, fracking...
I guess ExxonMobil is building something in The Woodlands at Hughes Landing, which is not in Harris County. I was thinking about that big complex of theirs where the new loop comes through.
There is always a limit on the amount of oil that we can extract from the earth...
with present technology,
at present prices...
Of course, those two conditions are not fixed.
Peak Oil, population bomb, global cooling, global warming, hole in ozone, blah blah blah blah. I vaguely remember a show narrated by Walter Cronkite in the 70s that claimed that insects would soon take over the world.
You would think that libs would get tired of always being wrong.......
Yep, Uncle George’s first massive fracs were actually in the 1970’s in a Wilcox sand in Lavaca County and in the Cotton Valley Lime in Limestone County.
The real proofs libs are mentally ill: they don’t want to do anything serious about the real threats of Islamism and hemorrhagic fever.
The solar system condensed out of gas. The gas giants are full of hydrocarbons. No dinosaurs or plants there. Earth just has rock holding the oil.
If peak oil is a myth, why am I still paying almost $5 a gallon for gasoline and heating oil?
In 2013, the minimum break even point was about $60/barrel.
In Saudi Arabia, the break even point for a traditional well is under $10/barrel.
Why?
A fracked well has a very short productive life, often one year or less.
With traditional drilling, a well can often produce for 10 years, or even more.
Also, fracking is labor intensive for the entire well life.
In sharp contrast, for traditional drilling, most of the labor costs are up front and can be amortized across the entire life of the well.
LOL! I also remember having arguments with a guy I used to work with around 2000 who was deep into the peak oil myth. WW3 was coming, the USA was going to attack all these Countries and take their oil. He was convinced of it! Man would I like to find that guy again and say, “WHAT!?”
“If peak oil is a myth, why am I still paying almost $5 a gallon for gasoline and heating oil?”
I just paid $2.979 yesterday for regular in San Antonio. Where are you, England?
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