The age of oil : the mythology, history, and future of the world's most controversial resource / Leonardo Maugeri.

Author
Maugeri, Leonardo, 1964- [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
Westport, Conn. : Praeger Publishers, 2006.
Description
xx, 340 pages ; 25 cm

Availability

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Engineering Library - Stacks TN870 .M339 2006 Browse related items Request
    Forrestal Annex - ReserveTN870 .M339 2006 Browse related items Request
      Forrestal Annex - ReserveTN870 .M339 2006 Browse related items Request
        Lewis Library - Stacks TN870 .M339 2006 Browse related items Request

          Details

          Subject(s)
          Summary note
          Explores the obsessions and misperceptions surrounding the resource that has shaped our lives, demonstrating that oil will be with us for a long time to come. Oil is the most vital resource of our time. Because it is so important, misperceptions about the black gold abound. The author clears the cobwebs by describing the colorful history of oil, and explaining the fundamentals of oil production. He delivers a controversial perspective on the industry, as only an insider could. The history of the oil market has been marked, since its inception, by a succession of booms and busts, each one leading to a similar psychological climax and flawed political decisions. In a single generation, we have experienced the energy crisis of 1973; the dramatic oil countershock of 1986; the oil collapse of 1998-99 that gave rise to the idea of oil as just another commodity; and the sharp price increases following hurricane Katrina's devastation in the Gulf of Mexico. Today, we are experiencing a global oil boom that, paradoxically, seems to herald a gloomy era of scarcity exacerbated by growing consumption and the threat from Islamic terrorism in the oil-rich Middle East. The author argues that the pessimists are wrong. In the second part of his book, he debunks the main myths surrounding oil in our times, addressing whether we are indeed running out of oil, and the real impact of Islamic radicalism on oil-rich regions. By translating many of the technical concepts of oil productions into terms the average reader can easily grasp, he answers our questions. Ultimately, he concludes that the wolf is not at the door. We are facing neither a problem of oil scarcity, nor an upcoming oil blackmail by forces hostile to the West. Only bad political decisions driven by a distorted view of current problems (and who is to blame for them) can doom us to a gloomy oil future. This book traces the history of the oil market, explains the fundamentals of oil production, examines the myths and controversies surrounding the production and distribution of oil, and speculates on future challenges in the oil market.
          Bibliographic references
          Includes bibliographical references (p. [311]-321) and index.
          Contents
          • Part One. A History of an Unreliable Market (and the Bad Policies it Prompted).
          • John D. Rockefeller's cursed legacy
          • The age of gasoline and oil imperialism
          • The carve-up of Arabia's oil
          • The oil glut of the 1930s
          • Cold War fears and the U.S.-Arabian link
          • The Iran tragedy and the "seven sisters" cartel
          • The golden age of oil and its limits
          • Oil and the explosion of Arab nationalism
          • The first oil shock
          • The second oil shock
          • The countershock
          • A storm in the desert : the first Gulf crisis
          • The Soviet implosion and the troubled Caspian El Dorado
          • The collapse of oil prices and industry megamergers
          • The first oil crisis of the twenty-first century
          • Part Two. Misperceptions and Problems Ahead.
          • Are we running out of oil?
          • The inner secrets of oil
          • The puzzle of oil reserves and production, and the quest for their control
          • The problems with oil quality, price, and consumption trends
          • Flawed forecasts, foggy alternatives to oil
          • Arabs, Islam, and the myth of oil security
          • Appendixes.
          • 1. Proven reserves, production, and reserves life index of the first twenty oil countries in the world and world totals (2004)
          • 2. Consumption trends of the first twenty countries in the world (1980-2004)
          • 3. Main features of some qualities of crude oil
          • 4. The largest national oil companies
          • 5. The largest international oil companies.
          ISBN
          • 0275990087 ((alk. paper))
          • 9780275990084 ((alk. paper))
          LCCN
          2006006632
          OCLC
          64624827
          International Article Number
          • 9780275990084
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