Archived Forum #24 – Peak Oil–Are We Ready?

Date: Friday, 3 September 2010
Time: 9 am – 12 noon
Location: Case Room 4, Floor Zero, Business School, University of Auckland

Our thanks go to Professor Bob Lloyd for a most enlightening lecture, and to Professor Basil Sharp who offered an economic approach, and Peter Malin who presented a geological approach.

Downloads:

Professor Bob Lloyd, University of Otago
Peak oil in NZ–Are we ready for it?

Peter Malin, Institude of Earth Science and Engineering
Creating a Resource Index Map for Geothermal Exploration, Assessment & Production

During his presentation, Professor Lloyd put forward some scenarios suggesting non-linear responses to peak oil. A recently leaked report from the German Military uses the same language.A summary translation can be found at The Oil Drum (see section 3.2) and a copy of this same text is available for download (54 kB PDF).

Additional information can be found at the next oil shock section of the NZ parliament website.

Summary

NZSSES has invited Professor Bob Lloyd from the University of Otago to give a one-hour presentation on whether or not New Zealand will be ready when peak oil occurs, and the likely impacts for both the world and New Zealand.

Professor Lloyd came to New Zealand in 2002 after having worked for the Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Renewable Energy (ACRE), based at Murdoch University in Perth. There he worked on renewable energy systems for remote areas and managed various research projects including wind power, fuel cells, advanced battery systems and PV diesel hybrid systems. At ACRE he coordinated and edited a major review of standards in place for renewable energy systems in Australia, which also included a section on training opportunities available in Australia in the renewable energy sector. He has also worked on renewable energy systems in China and the Pacific Islands and taught at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. His current research interests at the University of Otago, where he is the Director of Energy Studies, lie in energy conservation in residential housing and energy management including world energy resources. His PhD from Flinders University in South Australia was completed in the field of experimental atomic physics.

Panel discussion

Professor Lloyd’s presentation will be followed by a panel discussion and question and answer time. Panel members will include Professor Basil Sharp, Head of the Department of Economics at the Business School, University of Auckland; Professor Peter Malin, Director of the Institute of Earth Science & Engineering, and Dr Carol Boyle, Director of the International Centre for Sustainability Research at the Faculty of Engineering.

Professor Lloyd was sponsored by Morphum Environmental Ltd.