THE HIDDEN COST OF PEAK OIL

"[E]ven with every oil well on the planet pumping 24/7, supply simply can't keep up with demand. Every major producing oil field on earth is in decline, including the giant North Sea and Mexico fields. In fact, the world's oil industry would have to find the equivalent of more than 5% a year in newly discovered oil reserves just to maintain current production. What's coming up is a classic mismatch between supply and demand, which will hit the fan by 2015, if not sooner ... "[F]racking" oil from shale deposits will slow the rate of decline in global oil production a little, but will never offset the loss of production from the world's giant oil fields ... Back in the 1930s, the United States was producing 100 barrels of oil for every one barrel it invested. Today, oil fields range from 20:1 to 10:1. The U.S. average is 11:1."

Ein Artikel von Don Miller über Fracking, steigende Produktionskosten von Oil-Plays und EROI im Kontext von Peak Oil. Erschienen auf Money Morning (25. Juli 2012).