Peak Oil- what it is and how it will impact your life

If all the prognosticators are right, we have 100 years to figure it out. Humans have always been innovators and I believe that the drive to survive, the desire to create and prosper will and has driven technology. Just the optimist in me.

 

Once more, for the umpteenth zillion time, peak oil is NOT about running out of oil. Never has been. It is about running out of cheap, easily accessible oil.
Cheap energy has fueled the world and allowed, and propelled the rapid advancement of civilization and technology in the last 100 years at an unbelievable pace. A pace unheard of in history. No other force, no other source of energy, no other factor has had the impact on modern society like fossil fuel has. And the cheap access to it.
Oil depletion is a fact and a measurable equation. The lack of new, major fields, no matter the reason, is one key factor. One estimate I saw proposed that it would take the equivalent of at least 3 Ghawer fields, the largest oil deposits ever discovered, to keep up with global demand for the next century. That isn't going to happen. Technology, like fracking and directional drilling methods has made it easier to extract known deposits. But that is essentially making it easier to scrape the bottom of the barrel. And those techniques would not be feasible without the higher price of oil. So we are seeing the effects of peak oil today. The higher the price of oil, albeit much of it is from politics, but not all, the higher price spurs and pays for more drilling and production, but that will continue to wax and wane. It is not a linear line. All the older peak oil models incorporated a plateau and even an up and down fluctuation after the peak of the bell curve. And most models had the caveat that advancements in, and the creation of, technologies could impact the models. Impact the course, but not alter the outcome. Is it possible that we could discover many new fields that would drastically effect world supply? Yes it is possible. Is it possible that there could be an advancement in alternative energies that could substantially effect our energy requirements? It's possible. Anything is possible. But how likely is it?
That has always been the crux of peak oil. Do we want to put all our bets on remote possibilities?
And with the current "green" hysteria and cornucopian mindset I'm afraid there will not be the push to address the issue.
Unless, as I put my tin foil hat on, that is the reason for this global, seemingly unrealistic, push for alternative energy. Do world leaders know that the inevitable decline is upon us and that in time fossil fuels will no longer be able to meet our needs? Will we look back on $100 a barrel oil and $5 a gallon gas as the "good old days"?
It's never been about running out of oil. It's all about running out of cheap oil. The lifeblood of our modern world.

 

As are most of the plastics used by industry.

 

You have no idea what you're talking about. No advances in directional drilling? I was on jobs where we were celebrating drilling 1000' lateral in the 90's. Now we routinely drill 5000+ foot laterals. And the materials needed to do 15,000 psi fracs didn't exist 20 Years ago. I've been in the industry for over 40 years, I've been there done that, not read some crap someone wrote who has never been in the field. You're argument is baseless and lacking any substance whatsoever.

And that is 4

 

So as OP I'll make post number 5 here and simply say that as someone who has been in the industry my entire adult life I think I have a much clearer grasp of the subject than you ever could.
So, buh bye

 

I’ve got it from here.

First - Oil will be necessary until alternatives are viable and to date they are not.

Second - Experts the the field have already testified that if everyone went full electric the grid would collapse.

Third - You seem to like your EV’s which tells me you live in a warm or moderate climate because they do not fare well in colder climates and that reduced range and the inability to charge in extreme cold degrades their value.

Fourth - Do you actually live out on a farm? Got a tractor? Got a truck? Use fertilizer or pesticides? How about weed control?

 

The world hasn’t reached peak production yet. The US, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine sit on vast deposits as does some of our South American neighbors and Canada. As technology in the oil industry advances the volumes of untapped oil will increase. By prolonging oil discovery and inhibiting drilling (both industry killing processes) the World risks not having the energy needed to make the next leap in technology. Development takes time, as does marketing, infrastructure creation and demand. The reason coal plants in Europe are roaring back to life is the effect of artificially pushing oil prices higher and flattening supply through regulation.