Category: commentary

2014 ASPO-USA Update—Prepared by Richard Vodra. Introduction The story of America’s new energy abundance has Continue Reading

 There has been considerable talk in the US of late about not only future energy Continue Reading

By David Hughes (Note: Commentaries do not necessarily represent ASPO-USA’s positions; they are personal statements and Continue Reading

Dr. Richard G. Miller, trained as a geologist, joined BP as a geochemist in 1985. Continue Reading

By Steve Andrews “False optimism leads to very poor investment decisions.” – Jeremy Grantham, Co-founder, Chief Investment Continue Reading

By Steve Andrews. Last week the U.S. Senate’s Energy Committee held the first hearing in Continue Reading

By Steve Andrews.   Since the autumn of 2011, a storyline of “oil revolution” and Continue Reading

By Steve Andrews. (Commentaries do not necessarily represent the position of ASPO-USA) The key take-away Continue Reading

By Sally Odland, Steve Andrews, and John Theobald There are only two ways to live Continue Reading

By Steve Andrews and Randy Udall (Note: Commentaries do not necessarily represent the position of Continue Reading

(Note: Commentaries do not necessarily represent the position of ASPO-USA.) “New technology is almost as Continue Reading

(Note: Commentaries do not necessarily represent the position of ASPO-USA.) Saudi Arabia recently announced that Continue Reading

If one can’t rely on Daniel Yergin for soothing reassurances about the state of the global oil market, who you gonna call?

Daniel Yergin and his associates at Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) have consistently predicted a 20% to 25% increase in global total liquids production (which consists of crude oil, condensate, natural gas liquids, refinery gains and other liquids such as low net energy biofuels).

Reasons for interest in electric power generation from wind are multifold. First, wind is a renewable energy source. It is not likely to deplete over time, which is not the case for oil, coal, and natural gas.

Second, wind electric power generators use no water, which is in declining supply in many places in the world.

The 2011 ASPO-USA Conference, held in Washington, DC November 2-5, in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, attracted more than 300 participants from many walks of life. These attendees were brought together, presumably, by a belief that we are entering an era of inexorable decline in fossil fuel production and a desire to face head-on this very serious yet underreported predicament.

Last week we and other representatives of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas USA (ASPO-USA) stood on the steps of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to call for “Truth in Energy” concerning one of the most serious threats to our economy, national security, and environment: the prospect of an impending decline in world oil supply. The consequences of this milestone are far-reaching and potentially catastrophic. After a news conference at DOE, we delivered a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu summarizing our concerns and requesting answers to specific questions about DOE’s response to this monumental challenge.

By itself, the concept of having to get by on just a little bit less oil each year seems to be manageable enough. Some think that a steadily, or even sharply, rising price will merely reduce demand and promote exploration and that everything will more or less normally work itself out through well understood market mechanisms. Perhaps it will, but I think the odds are stacked against a smooth transition to a future of less net energy.