Has Peak Oil Actually Peaked?

WSJ's Liam Denning takes a seat on Mean Street to attempt to answer the question, has peak oil actually peaked? Photo: Getty Images.

More from the Wall Street Journal:

[infinityand]

The "new oil" is more expensive, more time consuming, more difficult to get. That means if the conventional fields are in decline, it will be very difficult to make up the difference in production. No surprise these cheerleaders failed to mention that.

[chrisray]

2023 -- Peak oil production appears to have been 2018 but was close to that record in 2022. We are managing to kick the can down the road.

[WhatAreColors]

Coal power plants rely on oil, it's challange to make them work with very limited oil reserves.
Coal itself is also very hard to extract from earth without oil, a whole new generation of machinery based on hydrogen fuel or liquid coal would have to be created. It can't be done on demand when oil exporting countrys decide to keep the oil for themself, this needs years of planning beforehand.

[WhatAreColors]

Even if it would work out, then we would end up with a quiet poor net energy gain because coal would have to be mined be in less accessible areas and would be less energy dense because we used to good coal first, "why mine bad coal when you can take the good stuff?" (best first principe)

Tar sands might be good enought to supply the US with Oil for petrochemicals and to produce fertilizers and pesticide so we can continue to grow food large scale like today. It can't be used to create energy.

[Tickld]

We won't run out of oil, it will just get more expensive, people will just have to try and use less! For example get a smaller more efficient car (if hydrogen takes off then that could become viable), don't throw away plastics into land fills, recycle! Oils for farming on the other hand, there isnt really a way around that, but if we use less oil all together we should be able to continue this for longer!

[mollytherealdeal]

With all due respect, I disagree with Liam Denning. Yes, higher prices can turn theoretically extractable oil resourcess into commercially viable oil reserves, and it can reduce demand; however, higher prices damages the economy. The prices are not decreasing in a growing economy. Europe is in the middle of an economic and political crisis. He has not proven that the second dip of this recession is more a factor than increase of supply. Denning advocates false hope.

[Bongobrian]

This guy does not know what he is talking about... 90% of all known reserves were found before 1970. Shale oil & fracking has an extremely poor energy retun... 7 Billion people and counting, the tipping point is here already. Finally, we will not return to economic growth... Ever! The current global financial crisis is because of peak oil. The oil economy we grew up with has ended and we now face relentless and steady decline.

[MrRyuzaki]

Now, this is confusing. When you say peak oil, you immediately refer to the peak of oil supply, and not the peak of oil prices. If you are referring to peak of oil supply, I think it's characterized by rising fuel prices, and frantic race of securing supply.

[gunnarkaestle]

No matter if high prices allow investments in hard to get oil wells, the party is over if the energy return of energy invested goes down. You need some net energy (surplus for society) to power the economic process. Unconventional oil (tar sands, oil shale) has an EROI of 3-5 which is far lower than the average of today ~20 -> 95% for society, 5% reinvested in drilling. An EROI of 5 means that you have to pay 20%. It's a nice exercise to discount future energy flows with rising interests.

[ClarksonsinUSA]

You are just wrong..Believe what you want...

[ClarksonsinUSA]

Tar Sands, oil shale, and mass reserves of natural gas all in North year

[ClarksonsinUSA]

Ck you are just wrong natural gas and looked at your comments on coal, we have a 400 year supply of Coal.... :) It is what it is....

[suppmarkxb]

Its okay for you americans and all the other countries out of europe we pay the equivalent at the gas station as you will when oil hits 200$ a barrel cos we pay 60% on tax where as what do you guys pay less then half that, so when oil does hit 150$ - 200$ look at europe and stop whining about you guys have to pay so much

[JouDjube]

hahaha.. theory of peak oil.. I guess it's time to teach the controversy.. last question to me is wether it's one or two before twelf on the oil clock :) (Albert Bartlett: watch?v=umFnrvcS6AQ)