Peak Oil

[tonybelding]

http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs13/f/2007/079/a/1/Peaked_Oil_by_azrainman.jpg

[vfx]

Half of the CFO's think we are at or near Peak Oil now.



...48 percent of chief financial officers (CFOs) at U.S. oil and gas exploration and production companies agree that the world has reached its peak petroleum (liquid hydrocarbon) production ...

Energy CFOs Are Split on World's Peak Petroleum Production Rate, According to BDO Seidman, LLP... - Forbes.com (http://www.forbes.com/businesswire/feeds/businesswire/2009/01/12/businesswire118947995.html)

[vfx]

Tony originally Posted this:
The Joy of Tech comic... laughter is the best tech support. (http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/1101.html)

[TEG]

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR - ‘Peak Oil’ Is a Waste of Energy (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/opinion/25lynch.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&&%2359;_r=1&%2359;amp)

Follow-on to the above:
Response to ‘Peak Oil’ Critics (the hydrocarbon age is still young: plan accordingly) — MasterResource (http://masterresource.org/?p=4410)

[vfx]

Hope you have your EV picked out.

The world is much closer to running out of oil than official estimates admit, according to a whistleblower at the International Energy Agency who claims it has been deliberately underplaying a looming shortage for fear of triggering panic buying.

Key oil figures were distorted by US pressure, says whistleblower | Environment | The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/09/peak-oil-international-energy-agency)

International Energy Agency (IEA) (http://www.iea.org/)

[vfx]

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/03/25/oil-reserves-in-the-news-new-discovery-and-a-question-of-inflat/


This point is emphasized by two recent articles, one from the Sydney Morning Herald that says that we have a lot less oil reserves underground than we've been led to believe and the other directly from Shell that says that a whole bunch more oil was just discovered in the Gulf of Mexico

[dpeilow]

BBC News - Falkland Islands oil disappoints for Desire Petroleum (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8592734.stm)

[TEG]

'Peak Oil' Movement Prepares for the Worst (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/us/06peak.html)

[TEG]

What does King Abdullah know? (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/commentary/jeff-rubins-smaller-world/what-does-king-abdullah-know/article1645963/)

[jaanton]

Consider an oil war where the agreement is that the Saudi's and the rest of the world agree to keep using oil until it runs out at about the same time. From a supply/demand perspective, neither wants to run out first because running out means you are at the mercy of the other.

[dpeilow]

Leaked Study on Peak Oil Warns of Severe Global Energy Crisis (http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2010/09/02/leaked-study-peak-oil-warns-severe-global-energy-crisis/)

[kgb]

:smile: I think we might have been wrong about Peak Oil, this guy pretty much proves it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bHZRSlhJxY


Nature doesn't give a damn what you do to it!

Hard to tell if this is a parody or mental illness. There was so much oil in this presentation that Jesus was drenched in it!

[TEG]

http://www.meridian-int-res.com/Projects/Solving_Oil.htm
http://www.meridian-int-res.com/Projects/exxonmob.jpg
http://www.meridian-int-res.com/Projects/2004Scenario.JPG

[vfx]

Consider the source.

They might be cooking the books to back up their demand for more deep water, national park, and shale operations.

[Alfred]

How much there is underground is currently not decisive. In the short to medium term there is probably just not enough production capacity in relation to anticipated demand. It is not possible to expand production significantly at short notice. In economic language: Supply is inelastic. Apart from the question whether you would like to blow all those reserves into the atmosphere, a peak oil situation could therefore emerge over the medium term, regardless of all other good or not so good intentions. The details of this are well explained in the following (voluminous) study:
http://www.odac-info.org/sites/default/files/The%20Peak%20Oil%20Market.pdf

[vfx]

Good writeup.
http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse/chapter-17a-peak-oil


Here’s our experience with oil in United States. From the first well drilled in 1859 until 1970, more and more oil was progressively pumped from the ground. But after that point, less and less came out of the ground. It is said, then, that the US hit a peak of oil production in 1970 at just under 10 million barrels a day, and today produces just a little over 5 million barrels a day. Those are the facts.


...Suppose we wanted to become “independent from imported oil” and decided to replace those 10 million imported barrels with some other form of energy. Those 10 million barrels represent the same power equivalent as 750 nuclear power plants. Considering the issues we have with the 104 we have operating right now, I think it’s safe to say nuclear power is not a realistic candidate for reducing oil imports. Well then, how much would we have to increase our solar wind and biomass energy production? There, we’d have to increase our currently installed base by a factor of 2,000. Not 2000%. Two-thousand times as much.

[vfx]

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6169


Mr. Gabrielli, the CEO of Petrobras [A Brazilian oil company], gave a presentation in December 2009 in which he shows world oil capacity, including biofuels, peaking in 2010 due to oil capacity additions from new projects being unable to offset world oil decline rates.

[cinergi]

...Suppose we wanted to become “independent from imported oil” and decided to replace those 10 million imported barrels with some other form of energy. Those 10 million barrels represent the same power equivalent as 750 nuclear power plants.
... assuming the same source-to-wheel efficiency, sure. Charging BEVs to travel as many miles as ICE vehicles requires less (how much? I'm sure someone here knows) energy.

[SByer]

2000x for alternative energy sources sounds like a lot until you realize that it doesn't take that long if you have a healthy CAGR. It's 30 years at 30% annual growth - 30% is what wind power grew by globally in 2010. China is investing enough in alternative energy to make that reasonably attainable.

No, not going to be fun getting there, but it doesn't mean we can't. To bad the US isn't planning ahead or investing enough in the future. Actually, just phase out subsidies on oil and coal and I bet the free market would take care of most of the rest.

[Alfred]

A modern nuclear station might be sized to around 1500 MW and could produce then 13 TWh/y.
10 million b/d correspond to 500 million tons of oil per year. Taking that as an energy equivalent, with one ton of oil equivalent holding 11.7 MWh, we get an annual call for 5850 TWh, or what 450 of those stations could produce. If used only for road transport, considering efficiency, you would end up with on the order of 45 new stations. This is still too high of course, because crude oil has to be refined and not all of it can be stuffed into cars. So at the most 20 new mid-sized station or perhaps 10 larger ones are closer to reality.
Further details about such estimates can be found on my pages.

[vfx]

Another expert:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110209/ts_yblog_thelookout/wikileaks-saudis-running-out-of-oil


Husseini also indicated that Saudi producers are likely to hit "peak oil"--the point at which global output hit its high mark--as early as 2012.

[dpeilow]

Exxon, Shell Both Essentially Admit Peak Oil Is Upon Us - Or Will Be Soon : TreeHugger (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/02/exxon-shell-admit-peak-oil-upon-us-or-soon.php)

[dpeilow]

The collapse of the old oil order | Grist (http://www.grist.org/article/2011-03-06-the-collapse-of-the-old-oil-order)

[dpeilow]

Johann Hari: Demanding cheaper oil is disastrous (http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-demanding-cheaper-oil-is-disastrous-2238407.html)

[rolosrevenge]

The EVs can't come soon enough.

[vfx]

Johann Hari: Demanding cheaper oil is disastrous (http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-demanding-cheaper-oil-is-disastrous-2238407.html)

Well written.

[dpeilow]

Seems like while the world's attention is on Japan, several Gulf states have sent in troops to quash the uprising in Bahrain. The spike in oil prices this would cause has been masked with the drop off in demand from Japan.

BBC News - Gulf states send forces to Bahrain following protests (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12729786)

[dpeilow]

Age of cheap fuel is over: IEA - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/28/3202209.htm)

Speculators not behind oil price spike, says energy agency - Apr. 28, 2011 (http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/28/news/economy/oil_prices_speculators/?section=money_latest)

Age of cheap fuel is over: IEA |Electric Vehicle News - StumbleUpon (http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1wCgta/electric-vehicles-cars-bikes.blogspot.com/2011/04/age-of-cheap-fuel-is-over-iea.html)



IEA chief economist Fatih Birol says the world's crude oil production peaked in 2006.

He says oil prices are likely to rise 30 per cent over the next three years.

"The existing fields are declining so sharply that in order to stay where we are in terms of production levels in the next 25 years, we have to find and develop four new Saudi Arabias," he said.

"It is a huge, huge challenge that we continue to underline."

[TEG]

http://www.countercurrents.org/arguimbau230410.htm
http://www.countercurrents.org/eia1.jpg


Being discussed here:
My Nissan Leaf Forum (http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5337&start=10)

[W.Petefish]

Actually if you ask a Geologist, the peak is still on the horizon.

As the demand for oil increases the price goes up. Simple economics.

When the price goes up high enough it becomes cost-effective to drill and produce areas in which would normally be passed over for cheaper locations. The peak occurs when the demand for oil exceeds peak production and then stays there. Dr. Gregory gave an excellent lecture on peak oil in the class The Scientific Method: Debunking Psuedo Science Through Critical Thinking. Here is a page on Peak oil (http://www.physics.smu.edu/pseudo/PeakOil/) from that class. (That class, by the way, was a blast to take.)

[vfx]

Actually if you ask a Geologist, the peak is still on the horizon. ...
...The Scientific Method: Debunking Psuedo Science Through Critical Thinking. Here is a page on Peak oil (http://www.physics.smu.edu/pseudo/PeakOil/) from that class. (That class, by the way, was a blast to take.)

He has a great casual writing style. Though he seems to be saying peak was in 2007. Nice stuff, thanks for sharing.

[W.Petefish]

That is typical of our relaxed style. :cool:

[vfx]

http://www.fcnp.com/commentary/national/10158-the-peak-oil-crisis-the-german-army-report.html

[dhrivnak]

One concern I have from an environmental viewpoint is that "peak oil" may be quite a few years away as the very dirty Canadian tar sands and US oil shale become attractive at $100/barrel. We have very large reserves of this stuff.

[rolosrevenge]

http://www.fcnp.com/commentary/national/10158-the-peak-oil-crisis-the-german-army-report.html
I don't think things would be nearly so bad. The transport of freight can be more efficiently accomplished by electric trains. We have more than enough coal and nuclear to do that for hundreds of years. The main reason we don't is due to subsidies to trucking companies. As for agriculture, fertilizer can be distilled out of the atmosphere with enough electricity. They are currently building a plant to do so in Eastern Washington which will produce mainly when the wind is blowing to use the unneeded power. Tractors can be electrified and may actually be much more efficient due to the higher low speed torque. The big thing that will hurt is air transport, but with high speed electric trains, much of the flights that are 300 mi and under would be eliminated anyways so there is a big savings there. There would be a problem if we ran out of energy sources, but we still have access to vast energy resources. So the most convenient energy for yesterday's technology is running out. What a great impetus to move on to better and more efficient ways to do things.

[Doug_G]

One concern I have from an environmental viewpoint is that "peak oil" may be quite a few years away as the very dirty Canadian tar sands and US oil shale become attractive at $100/barrel. We have very large reserves of this stuff.

Unfortunately the world is responding too slowly to the very real and imminent threat of peak oil and surging demand from China and India. I suspect that those "dirty" sources are going to be the only thing that saves our butts. We are so dependent on fossil fuels right now that a major shortage would be a calamity. I'm not just talking about the economy, I'm talking about people starving.

[dpeilow]

Global oil demand may peak before 2020 (http://www.green-car-guide.com/global-oil-demand-may-peak-before-2020.html)

[dpeilow]

We face a worldwide glut of oil, with profound economic and geopolitical implications, most of them good Telegraph Blogs (http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jeremywarner/100019176/we-face-a-worldwide-glut-of-oil-with-profound-economic-and-geopolitical-implications-most-of-them-good/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter)


FT Alphaville Is peak oil dead? (http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2012/07/24/1094111/is-peak-oil-dead/)

[Steph]

My opinion, we peaked about 15 years ago. Just before the succession of bubbles around the world.

Not a coincidence.

[richkae]

From the ftalphaville article: "Finally we must note that Maugeri is well known for his hostility to peak oil, as is BP, which funded his report."

Nuff said.

[WhiteKnight]

From the ftalphaville article: "Finally we must note that Maugeri is well known for his hostility to peak oil, as is BP, which funded his report."

Nuff said.

Why would BP be hostile to Peak Oil? The idea of Peak Oil (true or not) adds a premium to the price of oil which is free money for BP.

[dpeilow]

Because the idea of peak oil makes even conservative governments invest in non-oil based transport and energy. So a short term gain will be offset in a few years by lower demand.

[jaanton]

Why would BP be hostile to Peak Oil? The idea of Peak Oil (true or not) adds a premium to the price of oil which is free money for BP.
If you're an oil company, you don't want the public to believe that the supply is constrained. If enough oil consumers start to believe in Peak Oil that will damage demand because consumers will plan for and make decisions to move away from oil dependency.

So internally to oil companies, the idea of Peak Oil is well known. They need to sell the world that there will always be enough oil even if the price goes up. The trick is to keep the price affordable even while they have to work harder to get the oil, i.e. tight oil vs conventional oil Visit The Oil Drum | Discussions about Energy and Our Future (http://www.theoildrum.com/).

[SByer]

I'm no longer sure we're past peak oil. With fracking, and with the way our government subsidizes oil and the environmental destruction new techniques can bring, enough oil is probably now extractable that we're at peak oil only if we have the guts to cut off the corporate welfare.

(On the other hand, it's still more expensive to get oil that way, and the cost of renewables will cross that at a sooner point).

It's really sad that we now have the technological ability to terraform the planet until it fries us to a crisp in retaliation, and that as long as corporations are people and big oil owns government, that outcome seems almost inevitable.

[Yggdrasill]

I'm not certain we've passed peak oil, but one thing is certain, and that's that we've passed the point where supply can keep up with demand. The era of cheap oil is over, even if production were to reach higher levels than in the past. We won't see $60/barrel again, much less $30/barrel.

[YoungStranger]

I came across this from a right wing UK newspaper yesterday, which is currently running a campaign against wind power. Dont know how true or not the predictions are. Maybe its partly political cynicism and partly wishful thinking.

We face a worldwide glut of oil, with profound economic and geopolitical implications, most of them good Telegraph Blogs (http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jeremywarner/100019176/we-face-a-worldwide-glut-of-oil-with-profound-economic-and-geopolitical-implications-most-of-them-good/)

[Alfred]

The report quoted includes around 20% of expensive unconventional oil that needs high prices (above about 100$/bbl) to come forward. So even if the volume predictions should not be too optimistic in the first place, the marginal oil - 20% is an awful lot - would dictate price levels. Keep in mind that most oil is produced by government controlled or owned companies. "Big Oil" is a concept of the past. Many of those state companies have been underinvesting and that will inevitably come home to roost. The conclusions the press seems to extract from the report are a bit one sided. Large uncertainties remain and were apparently not hidden in the study.

[Robert.Boston]

Any of these "peak oil" or "running out of oil" (or any other commodity) are flawed for a simple reason: there is almost always more oil (or whatever) at a higher cost of extraction. One can imagine an unknown supply curve of oil available in 1700. The E&P (exploration and production) side of oil companies first reveal a part of that hidden supply curve, and then remove it (if it's cheap enough to do so) or add it to reserves (if it's not). Over time, more and more of the supply curve is revealed. Because today we generally know what to look for, and where to look for it, there's a fairly high degree of confidence of what the "unknown supply curve" now looks like below, say, $70/barrel. As prices continue to stay above $70, companies continue to look for more oil at these higher price points, and almost surely they'll find more.

Long story short: we won't run out of oil before we run out of money to pay for it.

[Yggdrasill]

Any of these "peak oil" or "running out of oil" (or any other commodity) are flawed for a simple reason: there is almost always more oil (or whatever) at a higher cost of extraction. One can imagine an unknown supply curve of oil available in 1700. The E&P (exploration and production) side of oil companies first reveal a part of that hidden supply curve, and then remove it (if it's cheap enough to do so) or add it to reserves (if it's not). Over time, more and more of the supply curve is revealed. Because today we generally know what to look for, and where to look for it, there's a fairly high degree of confidence of what the "unknown supply curve" now looks like below, say, $70/barrel. As prices continue to stay above $70, companies continue to look for more oil at these higher price points, and almost surely they'll find more.

Long story short: we won't run out of oil before we run out of money to pay for it.I wouldn't bunch "peak oil" in with "running out of oil". We won't run out of oil, but oil production will certainly peak at some point. As the price of oil goes up, it becomes harder and harder to afford it, thus reducing consumption/production.

[GSP]

Peak Oil doesn't mean we are running out, or will use it up completely. Peak Oil describes a characteristic of production that the rate of oil extraction will rise to a peak rate (90M barrels per day?) followed by a steady decline in the production rate. See M. King Hubbert's classic paper on the subject.

GSP

See note #6 from this wiki page for a copy of the paper.

M. King Hubbert - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._King_Hubbert)

[VolkerP]

I want to add a point to Roberts post which I think is critical. There is a time delay between rising prices and reserves being brought into production.

Example: Some $70/b reserves start being explored when oil prices stay above $80/b for some 3 months. Exploration takes 9 months (just an example, remember?). So oil is above $80/b for 12 months before production rates are added.

I would expect that oil prices rise in that year. If they pass a certain level, demand will collapse due to economic turmoil that they cause. Prices will follow to decline. Shai Agassi calls the result a "whiplash curve", taking out the economy. See his TED talk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcoJt2KLC9k#t=10m35s) at 10:35.

No, I really don't want to be in the shoes of those that have to decide when to start explore new reserves and at what price.

[Doug_G]

Why would BP be hostile to Peak Oil? The idea of Peak Oil (true or not) adds a premium to the price of oil which is free money for BP.

Probably because they want us to ignore the threat, so they can make a killing when the oil prices spike to the moon. Oh, and drive the world economy into recession.

[Vger]

Yes, the point is that after the peak, demand exceeds supply (assuming a continuous increase in demand), and the price rises inexorably. However, because of the delays mentioned above, there tends to be wild swings in price on its way up. We have already seen this. The price becomes very volatile, but each new peak price is higher. The only way out of that trap is to decrease demand, by turning elsewhere for energy. The only way to not run out of oil, is to make it obsolete and leave the dregs in the ground, forgotten.

[brianman]

The only way to not run out of oil, is to make it obsolete and leave the dregs in the ground, forgotten.
Or find another planet to extract it from.

[dpeilow]

I came across this from a right wing UK newspaper yesterday, which is currently running a campaign against wind power. Dont know how true or not the predictions are. Maybe its partly political cynicism and partly wishful thinking.

We face a worldwide glut of oil, with profound economic and geopolitical implications, most of them good Telegraph Blogs (http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jeremywarner/100019176/we-face-a-worldwide-glut-of-oil-with-profound-economic-and-geopolitical-implications-most-of-them-good/)


That's the same link that I posted up thread which restarted the discussion. It's a biased analysis of a biased analysis by a peak oil denier (how can you be one of those anyway, the planet isn't infinite?) paid for by an oil company. The Telegraph is the mouthpiece of the more undesirable parts of the Tory party and has been ramping up the rhetoric as that part - which seems to include the Chancellor - have been progressively scuppering anything related to renewables. I think they all need to declare interests and affiliatons.

[EVNow]

Any of these "peak oil" or "running out of oil" (or any other commodity) are flawed for a simple reason: there is almost always more oil (or whatever) at a higher cost of extraction.
I suggest a reading of Jeff Rubin's "Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization" to get a better understanding of the peak of rate of production of oil and its implications.

Jeff Rubin | Author | Economist | Speaker (http://www.jeffrubinssmallerworld.com/)

[richkae]

Probably because they want us to ignore the threat, so they can make a killing when the oil prices spike to the moon. Oh, and drive the world economy into recession.

They don't want to cause a recession. The parasite will die if it kills the host. They want us as healthy as possible so they can keep sucking blood.

The big question is - if we have a path available to shed the parasite - how much injury will they inflict to stop us.

[richkae]

I suggest a reading of Jeff Rubin's "Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization" to get a better understanding of the peak of rate of production of oil and its implications.

Jeff Rubin | Author | Economist | Speaker (http://www.jeffrubinssmallerworld.com/)

Seconded

[dpeilow]

That's the same link that I posted up thread which restarted the discussion. It's a biased analysis of a biased analysis by a peak oil denier (how can you be one of those anyway, the planet isn't infinite?) paid for by an oil company. The Telegraph is the mouthpiece of the more undesirable parts of the Tory party and has been ramping up the rhetoric as that part - which seems to include the Chancellor - have been progressively scuppering anything related to renewables. I think they all need to declare interests and affiliatons.

Well that didn't take long.

Osborne accused over gas lobbyist father-in-law - UK Politics - UK - The Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/osborne-accused-over-gas-lobbyist-fatherinlaw-7985001.html)

[jcstp]

Saudi Arabia Uses Your Gas Dollars To Fund...Solar Energy (http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1079668_saudi-arabia-uses-your-gas-dollars-to-fund-solar-energy?utm_source=GreenCarReports&utm_medium=twitter)

Saudi Arabia preparing itself?

[TEG]

Yeah, not only do they have a lot of oil, they have a lot of sunshine and empty land too...

[dsm363]

Very smart on their part. Why waste your most precious resource on yourself when you can sell it?

How much oil do they actually use for electricity generation though?

[dpeilow]

<cynic>Then they'll use it to make hydrogen and sell that to us too</cynic>

[jaanton]

I've been wondering if there wouldn't be an interesting relationship between peek oil and refinery investment. A refinery is a major capital object which needs decades to operate. Margins are thin and probably just going to get thinner. I keep reading about refineries being sold off even while the U.S. is exporting more refined products. Who would build a refinery when oil will not be affordable in a few years? U.S. consumption is down, but will it stay that way? Is smart money dumping refineries?

[TEG]

A casual search suggests that politics will find a way to keep refining profitable. From offering use of federal land, to shortened depreciation schedules.

BTW:
Crack spread - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crack_spread)

The Crack Spread: Theoretical Oil Margins Near 2-Year Highs - Seeking Alpha (http://seekingalpha.com/article/260232-the-crack-spread-theoretical-oil-margins-near-2-year-highs)

Going For Profits Off The 'Crack Spread' - Seeking Alpha (http://seekingalpha.com/article/711531-going-for-profits-off-the-crack-spread)
http://static.cdn-seekingalpha.com/uploads/2012/7/10/saupload_crackspreadchart2.jpg

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/cepmlp/car/html/CAR10_ARTICLE34.PDF

...In various countries of the world, governments have favored the construction of refineries from either private or state owned companies, ignoring the potential financial losses. The motive behind this policy is to save foreign exchange by importing crude oil, which is cheaper than importing oil products. In addition, the existence of a refinery within a country’s borders helps to promote economic growth and employment. To make the projects attractive to investors, the governments regulate in favor of local refineries by increasing import taxes on petroleum products and in some cases even prohibiting imports entirely...

[Robert.Boston]

"Crack spread" is a great double-entendre -- reminds us of our "addiction to oil."

[vfx]

JP wrote 18 Oct, 02:40 PM :


http://static1.cdn-seekingalpha.com/images/article/authors_reply_on_comment.gif ... I'm a tremendous risk taker when I fully understand the risk reward profile, ...



....whoops...

[AnOutsider]

One of my friends just posted this on Facebook

An American Oil Find That Holds More Oil Than All of OPEC - ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/story?id=17536852&sid=74)

[brianman]

One of my friends just posted this on Facebook
An American Oil Find That Holds More Oil Than All of OPEC - ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/story?id=17536852&sid=74)
Nitpicker's corner: This is the first time I've seen "several" used for "3".

Both the GAO and private industry estimate the amount of oil recoverable to be 3 trillion barrels.

"In the past 100 years — in all of human history -- we have consumed 1 trillion barrels of oil. There are several times that much here," said Roger Day, vice president for operations for American Shale Oil (AMSO).

[dflye]

Nitpicker's corner: This is the first time I've seen "several" used for "3".

xkcd: Words for Small Sets (http://xkcd.com/1070/)

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/words_for_small_sets.png