European Energy: Role Reversal (UK Hubbert Peak)

http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?page=article&id=3075

Knowingly or not, Britain’s geologists may have deceived their nation. Contrary to forecasts and models, oil and gas production has dropped precipitously. Britain, once the hub of European energy, is no longer energy self-sufficient.

By stark contrast, Germany has for years been jockeying to become the new source to fill European energy needs. It has a strategy to take good care of British energy security. But should Britons be concerned about growing too reliant upon their former enemy?

Hubbert’s Peak

According to data produced by Britain’s Department of Trade and Industry (dti), North Sea oil and gas production has now passed what is referred to as Hubbert’s Peak. If true, this is disastrous news for Britain. The North Sea, one of the world’s largest oil fields, has provided energy security and lucrative revenue for Britain for over 40 years.

Hubbert was a Royal Dutch Shell geophysicist who developed peak-oil theory, which shows how typical oil production from a field follows a bell-shaped curve: At some point an oil field reaches peak production, then pumping rates plateau for a short duration before suffering increasingly severe production declines. Regional production falls as newly drilled wells fail to offset slowing production from the many existing, aging wells.

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There's a pattern here. I just know it.