Great simplification pulsing lines

Ep 3  |  Arthur Berman

Arthur Berman “Oil: It was the best of fuels, it was the worst of fuels”

Check out this podcast

TGS03 Arthur Berman Cover The Great Simplification

On this episode we meet with petroleum geologist and expert in U.S. shale, Arthur Berman.

In the discussion, Berman explains oil from the ground-up. What is oil? How is oil formed? How did we become dependent on fossil fuels? How much human labor is equal to the amount of energy in one barrel of oil? Where do the majority of carbon emissions come from, and what role can we humans play in helping us reduce emissions? How much oil is left and what are future prospects for oil production and the economy?

Further, Berman looks at the human desire to continue to grow and how it contributes to our collective energy blind spots. If oil is the economy, and oil is depleting, Berman explains why human cultures will one day soon need to learn to be satisfied with enough, rather than more.

About Arthur Berman

Arthur E. Berman is a petroleum geologist with 36 years of oil and gas industry experience. He is an expert on U.S. shale plays and is currently consulting for several E&P companies and capital groups in the energy sector.

In French, we have a motto that says that a simple drawing is often better than a long explanation. Jean-Marc Jancovici Carbone 4 President

That’s very understandable because with left atmosphere thinking, one of the problems is that you see everything as a series of problems that must have solutions. Iain McGilchrist Neuroscientist and Philosopher

We can’t have hundreds and hundreds of real relationships that are healthy because that requires time and effort and full attention and awareness of being in real relationship and conversation with the other human. Nate Hagens Director of ISEOF

This is the crux of the whole problem. Individual parts of nature are more valuable than the biocomplexity of nature. Thomas Crowther Founder Restor

Show Notes & Links to Learn More

Click here to view Arthur Berman’s slideshow

00:50 – Art Berman website + oil drum

02:23 – What is oil? – Slides #4-10

03:14 – Where is oil found? – Slide #11

04:07 – Oil is correlated with oceans, not dinosaurs – Slide #4

05:12 – Largest oil producers – Slide #3

05:45 – Largest oil consumers

06:15 – Economy is made by work/energy – Slide #22

06:35 – Largest source of energy is oil – Slide #23

06:58 – Countries with the largest oil consumption have the largest economies – Slide #26-27

07:16 – Why is oil so special? High energy density and transportable – Slide #25

08:52 – What do we use oil for besides gasoline, what products? – Slide #12

10:50 – What is oil depletion? – Slides #13-21

12:59 – Conventional vs unconventional oil – Slide #2

14:18 – Tight/shale oil

15:36 – Oil shale

16:17 – Peak oil – Slide #40-45

18:13 – Downslope for many (most) countries

19:04 – M.K. Hubbert Peak oil prediction

19:57 – US chart oil production cumulative vs separated out types – Slides #15-16

21:38 – Energy Information Agency Main objective being projection and numbers, not prediction

24:15 – Running out of enough oil to grow and maintain financial system – Slide #31

24:18 – A barrel of oil does 4.5 years of one person’s work; the world uses 35 billion barrels of oil per year, 100 billion in aggregate with coal and natural gas – Slides #28-29

25:15 – Oil production grew 6% per year from 1930s to 1970s, and 1% per year since 1970s

25:32 – Debt goes to shale companies – Slides #48-50

26:07 – Decline rate chart; Approximately 80% of us oil comes from 5 regions, with early decline rate 40% in the already drilled wells – Slide #17

27:49 – Technology is a straw that allows us to extract and use oil and gas faster – Slide #46

28:32 – It takes millions of years to regenerate oil

28:48 – Carbon pulse in Nate’s materials

29:42 – Peak demand – Slide #43

30:40 – We need oil to extract other resources, transport materials to manufacture, and transport to markets – Slide #23

31:20 – Turbines are made of plastic

33:00 – For every process we use fossil energy for we use 1000-5000x more than when humans used to do it

35:55 – Gasoline is only 40% of the barrel of oil – Slide #39

37:45 – Internal combustion vehicle only responsible for 10–20% of global emissions – Slide #36

38:35 – Art Berman Twitter

40:35 – Energy is treated the same as any resource in economics, but shouldn’t be – Slide #31

41:47 – US won WWII and everyone else was in collapse

42:11 – US first developed economy to switch to petroleum

43:03 – US land geological history

Download transcript
Back to episodes
The Myths Shaping Our EconomiesWith Josh FarleyThe Great SimplificationEp 185 | Josh Farley

Economic theory has come to wield outsized influence over our societal goals, decisions, and policies – often relying on models that claim to optimize how human systems function. Yet the outcomes of our modern economic structures tell a different story: accelerating ecological collapse, widening inequality, declining public health, and increasing social disconnection. What if the foundational principles of mainstream economics are actually built on false assumptions that obscure the realities of our world? 

Watch nowJul 16, 2025
Algorithmic CancerWith Connor LeahyThe Great SimplificationEp 184 | Connor Leahy

Recently, the risks about Artificial Intelligence and the need for ‘alignment’ have been flooding our cultural discourse – with Artificial Super Intelligence acting as both the most promising goal and most pressing threat. But amid the moral debate, there’s been surprisingly little attention paid to a basic question: do we even have the technical capability to guide where any of this is headed? And if not, should we slow the pace of innovation until we better understand how these complex systems actually work?

Watch nowJun 25, 2025
Rod SchoonoverThe National Security Risks We’re Not Prepared ForWith Rod SchoonoverThe Great SimplificationEp 183 | Rod Schoonover

National security concerns have been the invisible hand guiding governance throughout recorded history. In the 20th century, it was defined by a country versus country dynamic: whichever nation was the strongest and most strategic was also the safest. But today, our biggest national security threats don’t come from opposing nations – they are “actorless threats” that emerge from the breakdown of the complex systems we all depend on – from the stability of our planetary systems to our intricately complex and fragile global supply chains. In this unprecedented landscape, what is required of us in order to keep our citizens safe?

Watch nowJun 18, 2025

Subscribe to our Substack

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future (ISEOF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, founded in 2008, that conducts research and educates the public about energy issues and their impact on society.

Support our work
Get in touch
x