Peak Oil

I was going to leave this as a comment in response to Les Jones Peak Oil post but his new anti spam software hasn't let me post a comment in a few weeks. So, I'll just post it here.

We are far from even approaching peak oil. Forget 30 years, we've got a whole lot more than that out there.

Its true that the wells we have now may not remain viable for 30 years at today's prices. However, as we've seen with old wells that have recently come back on line now that the price has risen, its all a matter of economic efficiency. On the world market, petroleum really is a free flowing commodity. Its only when the government starts to screw with it that you see instability.

For a lot more, I really recommend you check out ExxonMobil's 30 year energy forcast - I know the lefty libs hate Exxon, but that doesn't mean they aren't right.

The reason they hate them is cause, like Wal Mart in its field, ExxonMobil tends to be right about its investments far more often than its competitors or anyone else.

Saw an interview with Lee Raymond 2 or 3 years ago and he was asked what he would do when he retired. His response was that he was paid very well by Exxon to think about how Exxon could make more money selling oil not to think about what he would do when he retired.

That is the mindset that pervades the whole company - everyone thinks about oil and how to find it, access it more efficiently, transport it more efficiently, process it more efficiently, and sell it more efficiently.

Their forecast, in my opinion, is rock solid and unlike the forecasting of the Energy Information Administration which is constantly tweaked and manipulated by the political concerns of whichever party is in control (even though it shouldn't) Exxon's forecast represents how they see the world evolving and serves as a guide to their future investment. They have no political concerns other than finding more energy and selling it.

You can read it here.