2024 note: this is one of a series of posts from my old personal blog (2007—2010) that I’ve resurrected. More info here.
Here are a few choice quotes about peak oil from Kenneth Deffeyes, a long-time oil man who actually worked with King Hubbert. From Hubbert’s Peak (originally published in 2001), page 12:
My own opinion is that the peak in world oil production may even occur before 2004. What happens if I am wrong? I would be delighted to be proved wrong. It would mean that we have a few additional years to reduce our consumption of crude oil. However, it would take a lot of unexpectedly good news to postpone the peak to 2010. My message would remain much the same: crude oil is much too valuable to be burned as a fuel.
Hubbert’s Peak, page 164:
In the long run, the eventual use for oil will be for manufacturing useful organic chemicals. I expect our grandchildren to ask, “You burned it? All those lovely organic molecules, you just burned it?” Sorry, we burned it.
And from Beyond Oil (published in 2005), page 33:
OPEC was founded to stabilize world oil prices. […] If the price fell below $22 [per barrel], OPEC would cut back production. If the price went above $28, they could flood the market with oil. Since 2002, OPEC has been producing essentially at full capacity. Early in 2004, with oil prices near $33, OPEC announced a cut in production. The good news is that OPEC is no longer in charge of the price of oil. The bad news is that nobody is in charge.