Summary of Peter Zeihan's The Absent Superpower

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Book Preview: #1 Petroleum is the fuel of modernity. It does more than just keep the lights on and your car moving. It is an input in almost everything you have ever used or purchased. Without petroleum, there is no Internet, no cell phones, and no Christmas ornaments.

#2 Shale is a type of rock formation that often holds petroleum. It is trapped within the rock in tiny pockets that are mere microns across. Drilling through a shale layer will indeed release small bits of pressure and produce small amounts of petroleum, but only for a few days.

#3 The fracking process involves injecting liquid into a well and forcing it down to the rock layers, where it cracks open the rock and allows the trapped petroleum to flow back to the horizontal shaft, laterally to the vertical shaft, and up and out into the field’s surface gathering system.

#4 Shale is a mix of not just natgas, light oil, and lease condensate, but also petroleum gases like propane and butane. The formations of West Texas’ Permian and California’s Monterrey are a jumbled mess of stacked and interpenetrating layers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Mar 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669363866

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on Peter Zeihan's The Absent Superpower

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

petroleum is the fuel of modernity. It does more than just keep the lights on and your car moving. It is an input in almost everything you have ever used or purchased. Without petroleum, there is no Internet, no cell phones, and no Christmas ornaments.

#2

Shale is a type of rock formation that often holds petroleum. It is trapped within the rock in tiny pockets that are mere microns across. Drilling through a shale layer will indeed release small bits of pressure and produce small amounts of petroleum, but only for a few days.

#3

The fracking process involves injecting liquid into a well and forcing it down to the rock layers, where it cracks open the rock and allows the trapped petroleum to flow back to the horizontal shaft, laterally to the vertical shaft, and up and out into the field’s surface gathering system.

#4

shale is a mix of not just natgas, light oil, and lease condensate, but also petroleum gases like propane and butane. The formations of West Texas’ Permian and California’s Monterrey are a jumbled mess of stacked and interpenetrating layers.

#5

Shale oil is a form of petroleum that is extracted from rock using new production techniques. It is reshaping the energy politics and economy of the United States, and in turn, the global system.

#6

The shale industry has evolved in many ways to survive the current low energy prices. The resulting changes have transformed the American shale patch from a critical piece of the American energy system to a globe-changing revolution.

#7

There are three types of petrochemicals: heavy crude oil, mid-level petrochemicals, and light and sweet lease condensates. The United States is the largest producer of premium oils due to the shale revolution, which has extracted light and sweet lease condensates from shale rock.

#8

The final product of the shale industry is natural gas, which is a gas under all but the most extreme circumstances. It is used in many industrial processes, but it is a pain to corral because it is a gas and requires dedicated, uninterrupted infrastructure.

#9

In 2014, American shale faced a fundamental challenge that undermined every aspect of the process: oil prices crashed. In 2015, combined production of American oil and condensate didn’t only remain stable, but output ended the calendar year at a higher level than it had begun.

#10

Shale operators are not unaware of lower prices. They are accustomed to a lax environment, and have been able to deal with the decreased income by contracting creatively, reducing their margins, and continuing to produce.

#11

With oil prices at $100, many operators tried to find new places to drill, as the trick wasn’t to find your own patch of land and experiment with new things, but to take what you knew and merge it with other people working on the same project.

#12

Some stages of shale production are more expensive than others. The timing of when the well comes on-line is of critical importance, as it determines when the greatest flow rates are reached.

#13

The water used in the shale industry is not very sensitive, as long as operators don’t do anything stupid. In total, the shale industry uses less water than the United States’ golf courses. But in arid regions water availability is a major issue.

#14

The industry has learned that it doesn’t actually prefer surface water, but instead deep subsurface water. This water is mildly saline, and there is little competition for it in most areas.

#15

The shale petroleum industry has