Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash
Encyclopedia
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash is an award-winning documentary film
about peak oil
, produced and directed by Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack.
through interviews with petroleum geologists, former OPEC officials, energy analysts, politicians, and political analysts. The film contains contemporary footage interspersed with news and commercial footage from the growth heyday of petroleum production. The documentary focuses on information and testimony that supports the projection of a near-term oil production peak.
The documentary examines our dependence on oil, showing how oil is essential for almost every facet of our modern lifestyle, from driving to work to clothing and clean tap water. A Crude Awakening asks the tough question, “What happens when we run out of cheap oil?” Through expert interviews, the film spells out in startling detail the challenges we would face in dealing with the possibility of a world without cheap oil—a world in which it may ultimately take more energy to drill for oil than we can extract from the oil the wells produce.
, petroleum geologist Dr. Colin Campbell
, former OPEC Secretary-General Fadhil Chalabi, among many others.
, without the benefit of cheap oil to enable a recovery.
The producers of this film are trying to express their opinion that the world is running out of cheap, easily accessible oil, and present some of the possible consequences of this increasing scarcity. It is important to remember that the producers are not suggesting that the world is running out of oil; they are arguing that the world is running out of easy-to-get-at “cheap oil.” This theory presented in the documentary is popularly known as the “peak oil” theory.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about peak oil
Peak oil
Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. This concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, projected reserves and the combined production rate of a field...
, produced and directed by Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack.
Overview
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash explores key historical events, data and predictions regarding the global peak in petroleum productionPeak oil
Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. This concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, projected reserves and the combined production rate of a field...
through interviews with petroleum geologists, former OPEC officials, energy analysts, politicians, and political analysts. The film contains contemporary footage interspersed with news and commercial footage from the growth heyday of petroleum production. The documentary focuses on information and testimony that supports the projection of a near-term oil production peak.
The documentary examines our dependence on oil, showing how oil is essential for almost every facet of our modern lifestyle, from driving to work to clothing and clean tap water. A Crude Awakening asks the tough question, “What happens when we run out of cheap oil?” Through expert interviews, the film spells out in startling detail the challenges we would face in dealing with the possibility of a world without cheap oil—a world in which it may ultimately take more energy to drill for oil than we can extract from the oil the wells produce.
Interviews
Interviews include energy investment banking CEO Matthew SimmonsMatthew Simmons
Matthew Roy Simmons was founder and chairman emeritus of Simmons & Company International, and was a prominent advocate of peak oil. Simmons was motivated by the 1973 energy crisis to create an investment banking firm catering to oil companies. In his previous capacity, he served as energy...
, petroleum geologist Dr. Colin Campbell
Colin Campbell (geologist)
Colin J. Campbell, PhD Oxford, is a retired British petroleum geologist who predicted that oil production would peak by 2007. The consequences of this are uncertain but drastic, due to the world's dependency on fossil fuels for the vast majority of its energy...
, former OPEC Secretary-General Fadhil Chalabi, among many others.
Findings
The interviewees provided the results of their analysis of current levels of proven reserves, the limited opportunities for significant oil discoveries, and the dire economic consequences of a global oil production peak. Their overall conclusions were that a global peak was imminent (if not already occurring), more wars would be fought to control access to oil resources, and economies most dependent on oil (or relying on trade with oil-dependent nations) would suffer dire consequences rivaling the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, without the benefit of cheap oil to enable a recovery.
The producers of this film are trying to express their opinion that the world is running out of cheap, easily accessible oil, and present some of the possible consequences of this increasing scarcity. It is important to remember that the producers are not suggesting that the world is running out of oil; they are arguing that the world is running out of easy-to-get-at “cheap oil.” This theory presented in the documentary is popularly known as the “peak oil” theory.
External links
- A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash Lava Productions AG, film distributor