Sunday 4 February 2007

Matt Simmons : Peak Oil is here NOW

Energy industry banker Matthew R. Simmons was interviewed on Bloomberg a few days ago and basically said:

  • Looking at real production numbers and not fanciful estimates, peak is here now
  • In a couple of years, PO might replace global warming as the biggest issue being discussed
  • We don't have time to find more oil (if it even exists)
  • We need all replacement options, even targets set by Bush (in SotU '07) may be unrealistic
  • We will have to do with less as alternatives will not scale to rising demand fast enough
So, there you have it. Simmons is now the Nth prominent oil industry figure to claim peak oil. The clock is ticking and reality deniers like CERA are running out of statistical lies.

On a related note, isn't it curious that now many big oil consuming countries are trying to double their emergency reserves when oil price has temporarily plummeted from it's temporary high? If oil was so abundant that production would grow to 2050 (as CERA claims) why would any of the countries be increasing their reserves? It's like putting money into a bank with zero or negative interest. They must know something they are not telling the general public.