Probably not, says Roger Blanchard in this EV World article. It’s bit technical, but the overall point is very clear:
Based upon production and [estimated ultimate recovery] data for the fields discussed above, technology appears to have little impact on ultimate recovery. Technology has allowed producers to achieve high production rates but that has led to high decline rates. Those claiming that technology increases ultimate recovery appear to be basing that claim on oil reserves data in Oil & Gas Journal and World Oil. Reserves data are seriously flawed due to exaggeration of reserves, lack of updating for reserves figures, lack of a universally recognized definition for reserves and lack of independent verification. Reserves data should not be used to make conclusions about technology’s impact on ultimate recovery.
Good stuff for that eventual argument with a peak oil naysayer…
Categories: peakoil, technology, oil, energy