Twilight in the Desert

Overview

In 2005, Matt Simmons wrote a book called Twilight in the Desert. In it, he summarized what he learned about Saudi Arabian oil production by reading 200 academic papers. He concluded from his analysis that the oil extraction techniques being used there were techniques that one might use if the fields were quite depleted. Because of this, he doubted that we should believe stories that Saudi oil production can be greatly expanded. Instead, he raised the possibility that in the not too distant future, Saudi oil production will suddenly decline. Matt's research underlying the book was no doubt behind his concern that oil reserves and oil production rates are not audited.

—Review on theoildrum.com

Simmons–Tierny bet

Simmons' prediction of rising oil prices made in Twilight in the Desert led to a bet with New York Times columnist John Tierney in August 2005. The two men bet US$10,000 that was the year-end average of the daily price-per-barrel of crude oil for the entire calendar year of 2010 adjusted for inflation would be at least $200, with Simmons predicting that it would be higher and Tierney taking the opposite position. The average price for a barrel of oil in 2010 turned out to be $80 ($71 in 2005 dollars, slightly higher than the $65 the price was when the bet was made), less than the $200 Simmons had predicted. Simmons died on August 8, 2010, and the bet was paid out by his colleagues in Tierney's favor.