Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage (New Edition)

Kenneth S. Deffeyes

Princeton University Press, 2009 - Nature - 208 pages

In 2001, Kenneth Deffeyes made a grim prediction: world oil production would reach a peak within the next decade--and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. Deffeyes's claim echoed the work of geophysicist M. King Hubbert, who in 1956 predicted that U.S. oil production would reach its highest level in the early 1970s. Though roundly criticized by oil experts and economists, Hubbert's prediction came true in 1970.


In this updated edition of Hubbert's Peak, Deffeyes explains the crisis that few now deny we are headed toward. Using geology and economics, he shows how everything from the rising price of groceries to the subprime mortgage crisis has been exacerbated by the shrinking supply--and growing price--of oil. Although there is no easy solution to these problems, Deffeyes argues that the first step is understanding the trouble that we are in.

Contents

• Overview: 1
• The Origin of Oil: 14
• Oil Reservoirs and Oil Traps: 40
• Finding It: 70
• Drilling Methods: 88
• Size and Discoverability of Oil Fields: 113
• Hubbert Revisited: 133
• Rate Plots: 150
• The Future of Fossil Fuels: 159
• Alternative Energy Sources: 176
• A New Outlook: 186
• Notes: 191
• Index: 205

About the author

Kenneth S. Deffeyes is professor emeritus at Princeton University. Prior to teaching, he worked alongside M. King Hubbert at the Shell Oil research laboratory in Houston.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage (New Edition); Online access: EBSCO Environment Complete
• Author: Kenneth S. Deffeyes
• Edition: illustrated, reprint, reissue, revised
• Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2009
• ISBN: 0691141193, 9780691141190
• Length: 208 pages
• Subjects: Nature / Natural Resources; Science / Earth Sciences / General; Science / Earth Sciences / Geology; Technology & Engineering / Engineering (General); Technology & Engineering / Petroleum; Technology & Engineering / Power Resources / General