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Some peak oil followers dispute Simmons Macondo statements

https://www.chemnet.com   Aug 11,2010
Some followers of the peak oil theory had recently taken issue with comments by leading proponent Matt Simmons, who died Sunday, over the effects of the Macondo spill and had begun to question his credibility.


Simmons, 67, died Sunday of an apparent heart attack at his home on North Haven island in Maine (story 1556 GMT).


Art Berman, a geological consultant and contributor to the Oil Drum blog,a leading web platform of the peak oil school, stressed that his "abiding feeling" for Simmons was one of "great respect. Obviously it's a loss of a great voice and a great leader," he said.


But, like others, Berman was concerned about many of Simmons' public comments about the Macondo spill, citing that Simmons called the spill an "apocalyptic event."


July 29 postings on the Oil Drum took issue with some of Simmons' widely reported comments on the toxicity of methane gas from the Macondo well and on what he said was a growing lake of the well's oil at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, Berman said. Simmons had speculated this 500-foot thick lake of oil may be covering 40% of the Gulf.


"I don't for a moment dispute that it had catastrophic effects on the environment," Berman said. "But at the same time, some of his comments were over the edge," he said, while citing Simmons's importance in advancing the
peak oil theory. It was in the public interest to challenge his statements, Berman said.


According to Berman, Simmons had called for an evacuation of the Gulf Coast states -- a declaration from which the Oil Drum wanted to remove itself."We didn't want millions of residents to unnecessarily panic," Berman said.


In a July 23 blog posting his R Squared Energy Blog, Robert Rapier said,"Simmons has lately been making what I feel are very irresponsible and
sensational claims that don't hold up to scrutiny."


Rapier referred to an MSNBC interview with Simmons on the 49th day of the Macondo spill, which started April 20 when the well blew out and Transocean's
Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing 11 on board, in which Simmons said the
use of a nuclear device might be the "only" option to stop the oil flow.


"Sadly, I believe he is in the process of destroying his credibility,and I ultimately do not think history is going to judge him kindly when it looks back on these events," Rapier said.


"This is very unfortunate, because despite the sensational claims, I still believe he [Simmons] is correct on a lot of the big picture questions of peak oil, long-term prices and the need to take action," Rappier said. "But if he loses his credibility, he will diminish his ability to convince people of the importance of the big picture issues," Rapier said.
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