The Hubbert Peak Oil Production Theory
M.K. Hubbert, a geophysicist, created this method of estimating an oil reserve's oil production capacity. The fundamental aspect of peak oil is that there is a finite amount of oil in the ground. In other words, he stated that the world's supply of crude oil is exhaustible. Oil companies continue to use the concept of Peak Oil, although this theory was not met with immediate approval from Hubbert's peers. Apparently it has proven remarkably accurate in predicting production rates, the time an oil reserve will last, and what the peak production rate will be.
The Peak Oil curve has a given equation and parameters. When the curve is applied to several production parameters, the production and lifetime of the oil field can be estimated. The total length of time that the oil field will be viable can be predicted. The production rates can also be estimated. The equation provides a guess at the maximum oil production possible from an area. Finally, the area under the curve is a calculation of the total barrels of oil available from an oil site. These predictions are more accurate when more oil drilling information is available.
The Peak Oil concept is unusual in that it not only applies to a given geological location. It applies to the entire world's oil reserves! For example, Hubbert predicted in the mid 1950s that U.S. oil production would peak between 1965 and 1970. The oil industry currently marks the U.S. peak at 1970. He predicted a worldwide oil peak about 50 years after his mid-1950s paper was published. By his estimate, the world will reach its oil production peak between 2000 and 2010.
Crude oil reservoirs can be classified as "easy" or "hard." These terms refer to the degree of difficulty in reaching and extracting the oil. Easy oil means those oil reserves that are not far below the ground and can be reached without difficult drilling. The easy oil fields would be those drilled on the part of the curve that shows rapidly increasing production. As the easy oil fields dry up, hard oil must be found and drilled. Hard oil fields are those which require very difficult drilling in dangerous locations.
The Hubbert Theory is a relatively simple concept that has been surprisingly accurate in prediction the amount of oil produced from a given area. By Hubbert's estimation, the world's peak oil production is about to be reached, and only hard oil will be available after that.
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Mayoor Patel is the writer for the website http://oil-production.oil-universe.com/. Please visit for information on all things concerned with Peak Oil Production
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