The Myth of the Oil Crisis: Overcoming the Challenges of Depletion, Geopolitics, and Global Warming

(Paperback)

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With oil around $100 a barrel, drivers wince whenever they pull into the gas station and businesses watch their bottom lines shrink. Watch out, say doomsayers, it will only get worse as oil dries up. It's a plausible argument, especially considering the rate at which countries like China and India are now sucking up oil. Even more troubling, the world's largest oil fields sit in geopolitical hotspots like Iran and Iraq. Some believe their nations need to secure remaining supplies using military force, while others consider dwindling supplies a blessing that will help solve the problem of global warming. But waitis it really the end of oil Absolutely not, says geologist, economist, and industry-insider Robin Mills. There is no other book by an industry insider that effectively counters the peak oil theory by showing where and how oil will be found in the future. There also is no other book by an insider that lays out an environmentally and geopolitically responsible path for the petroleum industry and its customers. The Myth of the Oil Crisis, written in a lively style but with scientific rigor, is thus a uniquely useful resource for business leaders, policymakers, petroleum industry professionals, environmentalists, and anyone else who consumes oil. Best of all, it offers an abundance of one commodity now in short supply: hope for the future.

Reviews

Geologist, economist, and petroleum industry insider Mills makes an intelligent case for oil's continuing role as a major, growing energy source. A Herculean task, one would think, given public sentiment on the matter. Mills manages it by first neatly dividing opposing viewpoints into five camps: geologists (those who espouse peak oil theory), economists (the markets will work it out), militarists (use power to secure energy supplies), environmentalists (fossil fuels: no), and no-Luddites (fossil fuels, consumption, and materialism: no). He then conquers their positions with lively, exhaustive sourced arguements to say that there may be more conventional oil than reported, colossal unconventional sources, and plentiful energy substitutes. Mills shows deep understanding of the complexity of the issue, and while promising no easy fixes, he is yet hopeful: gloomy predictions do not resemble the real world and take no account of human integrity. * Library Journal, Starred Review *
The oil crisis and US energy policy (or lack thereof) has been debated since President Nixon was in office, and this important issue is being revisited again under the Obama administration. Mills (petroleum economics manager, Emirates National Oil Company, Dubai) provides a very good overview of the main issues at hand. He critiques the views of key groups (geologists, economists, militarist, environmentalists, and 'Neo-Luddites') on this issue; discusses sources of current and future oil reserves and other energy sources; and contends that oil supplies are growing. Mills correctly points out shortcomings and exaggerated claims of the pessimists when it comes to oil and the policy implications resulting from their claims. This book is a welcome addition to the literature and an excellent resource for those new to the field Highly recommended. General readers; undergraduate students at all levels; practitioners. * Choice *

Author Bio

Robin M. Mills is an oil industry professional with a background in both geology and economics. Currently, he is Petroleum Economics Manager for the Emirates National Oil Company in Dubai. Previously, he worked for Shell. Mills, who speaks Farsi and Arabic, is a member of the International Association for Energy Economics and Association of International Petroleum Negotiators. He holds a Master's Degree in Geological Sciences from Cambridge University.