By peak oil, I am referring to the peak oil supply theories, which are unrelated to peak oil demand, although some confuse the two. (Googling recent peak oil references brings up primarily peak oil demand pieces.) Which is not to say that it is impossible to find someone in the oil industry who seems to be supporting peak oil, that is, the belief that a peak in conventional oil production has occurred. The 1998 article “The End of Cheap Oil” did in fact include the subtitle stating that it was referring to a peak in conventional oil. Hardly the only shortcoming of that article; you could write a book about the bad analysis underlying peak oil theorists generally—and I did, The Peak Oil Scare and the Coming Oil Flood.

Source: Forbes January 17, 2024 18:15 UTC