The Association for the Study of Peak Oil posted its latest
newsletter, including the following commentary:
The Chairmen of some large oil companies evidently have some difficulty in explaining Peak Oil, most preferring the oblique inference to direct statement. The Chairman of Shell is no exception. He recently announced record profits of $22.9 billion dollars derived from refining margins and profiteering from shortages. According to the Financial Times, he responded to Press queries about peak oil with the words:
The theory of peak oil, that oil production has peaked, is correct if you look at easy oil close to markets, like west Texas and the North Sea,” he said. “But think about deep water drilling, think about the Arctic.”
If we take his advice and think about deep water and polar oil we might conclude that the former holds about 70 Gb and will peak around 2011 at 12.5 Mb/d while the polar regions are mainly gas-prone and out of reach.
He admitted that Shell replaced only 70-80% of its reserves but said that it planned to be in balance by 2008. He has too ways by which to achieve that goal : to find more or produce less. It sounds as if the latter will be the easier option. The financial community reacted by selling Shell shares.
Emphasis added.
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