Friday, July 15, 2005

Journal article considers peak oil factors not accounted for in Hubbert's model

Using Hubbert's model with added factors, this author predicts a world production peak by 2025.

Hubbert's Model: Uses, Meanings, and Limits-2:

The mathematical model of M.K. Hubbert successfully predicted the peak of oil production in the US even though the logistic growth curve on which it is based cannot account for the physical, political, and economic factors that govern actual production. The first part of this article introduced a number of those factors, which will be elaborated here to demonstrate their influence on
applicability of the model (OGJ, June 6, 2005, p. 22).
These and other limitations-including the uncertain nature of resource estimates-must guide use of Hubbert's model in production forecasts...

Some forecasters19 20 21 have used proprietary reserves data in conjunction with Hubbert's model or derivatives of this model to estimate future world oil production trends. It is now possible to
use publicly available resource estimates based on the best available science and technology14 and different modeling approaches to estimate a peak year for world oil production.22 23 24 All of these approaches indicate that one should expect a peak in conventional world oil production due to resource constraints alone by 2025 or earlier. Non-OPEC production should peak due to resource
constraints much earlier, between 2010 and 2015.

However, producer cooperation is a critical requirement for the validity of all of these models. Given the political factors associated with current world oil production, it is essential that anyone interested in future production make some attempt to evaluate the likelihood of continued cooperation as an increasing number of
producing basins reach maturity and begin to decline. It seems increasingly clear that this factor, not resource-constrained production, will actually determine the time period in which petroleum supply will not match demand...

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