"The author...is clearly an expert in his field…I recommend anybody in the financial markets read this book." (Financial Engineering News, October 2006)
"Those who follow with their own tales of imminent economic collapse struggle to emerge from [Simmons'] shadow." (Spectator Business, October, 2008)
Saudi Arabia is the most important
oil producing nation in history. The secretive Saudi government repeatedly assures the world that its oil fields are healthy beyond reproach, and that they can maintain and even increase output at will to meet skyrocketing global demand.
But what if they can't?
Twilight in the Desert looks behind the curtain to reveal a Saudi oil and production industry that could soon approach a serious, irreversible decline. In this exhaustively researched book, veteran oil industry analyst Matthew Simmons draws on his own three-plus decades of insider experience and more than 200 independently produced reports about Saudi petroleum resources and production operations. What he uncovers is a story about Saudi Arabia's troubled oil industry, not to mention its political and societal instability, which differs sharply from the globally accepted Saudi version.
It's a story that is provocative and disturbing, based on undeniable facts, but until now never told in its entirety. Twilight in the Desert examines numerous aspects of Saudi Arabia and its looming oil crisis, including: The seventy-year history of modern Saudi Arabia, and the truth behind its troubling mix of monarchy, conservative Islam, severe social restrictions, and economic contradictions Why the geological phenomena that created Saudi oil invincibility now threaten to bring it to an end, far sooner than the world has been led to believe A field-by-field assessment of twelve key Saudi oil fields, and how verified shortfalls in their production and potential stand sharply at odds with unverifiable Saudi rhetoric
While Saudi officials promise to increase production from current levels ifnecessary, Twilight in the Desert examines the history of other major oil fields to determine that Saudi Arabia is in fact overproducing its primary resources, and couldn't possibly ramp up production for long. It calls for long-overdue transparency on the part of the Saudis and all significant global oil producers, along with urgently needed energy data reform, and a global energy blueprint for how the world will cope once Saudi oil output has peaked.
Without question, Saudi Arabian oil fields provide the rest of the world with its most plentiful, low-cost oil resource. The question is how long can they continue to keep these critical pipelines open. Twilight in the Desert answers that question with keen examination instead of unsubstantiated posturing, and takes its place as one of the most important books of this still-young century.
From the Back Cover
Praise for TWILIGHT IN THE DESERT "This book is likely to be the most important ever written about oil."
―The late Richard E. Smalley, PhD, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, 1996 Former University Professor, Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry, Former Professor of Physics, Rice University
"[Simmons] effectively confronts the complacent notion that there are ample oil reserves in Saudi Arabia. Twilight in the Desert should provoke anyone who believes that the recent increase in oil prices reflects either a speculative bubble or short-term supply constraints."
―Edward L. Morse, former deputy assistant secretary of state for international energy policy
"Everyone must understand this thesis, whether you agree or not,since it may change life as we know it."
―Jim Rogers, author of Hot Commodities and Adventure Capitalist
"Matt Simmons's book is a challenge to Middle Eastern oil producers to provide the world with more and better oil field data . . . If Simmons proves directionally correct, we are in for a huge and early challenge to find alternative transportation fuels."
―Dr. Herman Franssen, President, International Energy Associates, Inc.
"Provides much-needed transparency to a subject long hidden from public view. While all may not agree with its findings, it is the ensuing debate surely to follow that gives value to the author's efforts."
―Robert E. Ebel, Chairman, Energy Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC
About the Author
MATTHEW R. SIMMONS is Chairman of Simmons & Company International, a Houston-based investment bank that specializes in the energy industry. He now focuses on research, writing, and speaking engagements. Last year, he gave seventy-five speeches to a variety of groups, including energy industry conferences, university symposiums, and think tanks. Mr. Simmons is a member of the National Petroleum Council, a board member of Resources for the Future, and a Trustee of The Atlantic Council of the United States. He has an MBA from Harvard University.
