Book Review - Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage

Abstract

This book provides a thorough explanation of the origin, exploration, production, and marketing of oil. The author’s goal is to increase awareness (if not an attempt to raise the alarm) that an unprecedented energy crisis is just over the horizon. Kenneth Deffeyes predicted an impending oil crisis by 2004 which will manifest itself by a dramatic increase in oil prices. Does this sound familiar? The few years since this book has been published seem only to provide additional proof that Deffeyes’ prophecies might be correct. The author goes beyond Hubbert’s model; not only does he model current oil production and reserves to forecast an impending peak, but he also geographically and experimentally explains why oil reserves and oil recovery will peak soon and why even generous oil reserve estimates will lead only to a few years’ variation in the expected production peak.