Matthieu Auzanneau

The combined crude oil production of the five main international oil companies (Exxon, BP, Shell, Chevron and Total) hit an historic high in 2004. Since then, it has fallen by 25.8%, despite large increases in investments.

English summary: Total has agreed to present on my blog its scenario on world future oil production. No peak oil in sight according to Total, provided the industry puts on stream 45 Mb/d in the next 15 years. How can this tremendous task may be achieved ? Huge uncertainties remain in this unpublished scenario.

La direction du groupe Total a accepté de présenter ici son scénario sur l’avenir du pétrole. Selon elle, aucun déclin des extractions ne s’annonce à l’horizon… à condition de développer d’ici 15 ans l’équivalent de la moitié de la production mondiale actuelle ! Comment réussir pareil tour de force ? De vastes zones d’ombre subsistent dans ce scénario inédit. [excerpt]

Jean Laherrère is co-founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and a retired expert from the French oil company Total. He picks apart the latest analysis from the champion of optimists, the American Daniel Yergin. (Translation of an interview from the French.)

The most recent analysis by Daniel Yergin, champion of the "optomists," is dismantled in an interview with Jean Laherrère. veteran expert of the French oil company, Total, and co-founder of Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO). [Excerpts, in French]

“Twilight in the desert” is a book summing up the arguments of a Texan oil banker who suggests that Saudi Arabia is overestimating its future oil production capacity. I’ve learned through the American Department of Defense that this book is the source of two recent Pentagon reports envisaging a severe lack of oil starting in 2012 and continuing until 2015 at least. [excepts]

The co-author of the famous Hirsch report gives an exclusive interview to a French journalist.