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Matthew Roy Simmons (April 7, 1943 – August 8, 2010) was founder and chairman emeritus of
Simmons & Company International ''Simmons Energy'' , A Division of Piper Jaffrey'' is an independent investment bank specializing in the energy industry, offering M&A advisory, capital markets execution and investment research. Simmons & Company International has offices in Ho ...
, and was a prominent figure in the field of
peak oil Peak oil is the hypothetical point in time when the maximum rate of global oil production is reached, after which it is argued that production will begin an irreversible decline. It is related to the distinct concept of oil depletion; whil ...
. Simmons was motivated by the
1973 energy crisis The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had su ...
to create an investment banking firm catering to oil companies. He served as an energy adviser to U.S. President George W. Bush and was a member of the National Petroleum Council and the
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...
. Simmons, who lived in
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...
, Texas, died at his vacation home in
North Haven, Maine North Haven is a town and island in Knox County, Maine, United States, in Penobscot Bay. The town is both a year-round island community and a prominent summer colony. The population was 417 at the 2020 census. North Haven is accessible by th ...
, on August 8, 2010, at the age of 67."Utah native Matthew Simmons, energy investment banker, dies in Maine"
''Deseret News'' (2010-08-09). Retrieved on 2012-05-20.
The death was ruled "accidental drowning with heart disease a contributing factor". Simmons was the author of the book '' Twilight in the Desert'', published in 2005. His examination of oil reserve decline rates helped raise awareness of the unreliability of
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
oil reserves An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
. He gave numerous presentations on
peak oil Peak oil is the hypothetical point in time when the maximum rate of global oil production is reached, after which it is argued that production will begin an irreversible decline. It is related to the distinct concept of oil depletion; whil ...
and
water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...
shortages. Simmons believed that the
Club of Rome The Club of Rome is a nonprofit, informal organization of intellectuals and business leaders whose goal is a critical discussion of pressing global issues. The Club of Rome was founded in 1968 at Accademia dei Lincei in Rome, Italy. It consists ...
's report, ''
The Limits to Growth ''The Limits to Growth'' (''LTG'') is a 1972 report that discussed the possibility of exponential economic and population growth with finite supply of resources, studied by computer simulation. The study used the World3 computer model to simula ...
'', is more accurate than usually acknowledged. Simmons was the founder of the Ocean Energy Institute in Maine.Ocean Energy Institute Blog
/ref> His vision was to make Maine a leader in energy from offshore wind and ocean forces. The Ocean Energy Institute ceased operations in 2011.


Saudi Arabian oil reserves

In his book, Simmons argues that production from
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
and especially from Ghawar—the world's largest oil field—will peak in the near future, if it has not done so already. Simmons bases his case on hundreds of internal documents from
Saudi Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ar, أرامكو السعودية '), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company) or simply Aramco, is a Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran. , it is one of ...
, professional journals and other authoritative sources. However, by 2016, Saudi production had increased by more than one million barrels per day.


Oil price wager

In August 2005, Simmons bet John Tierney and Rita Simon, the widow of Julian Simon, $2500 each that the
price of oil The price of oil, or the oil price, generally refers to the spot price of a barrel () of benchmark crude oil—a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Crude, Dubai Crude, OPEC ...
averaged over the entire calendar year of 2010 would be at least $200 per barrel (in 2005 dollars). Simmons would have lost this bet by a very wide margin: 2010 average oil prices did not even reach $100. The world-wide economic collapse created
demand destruction Demand destruction is a permanent downward shift on the demand curve in the direction of lower demand of a commodity, such as energy products, induced by a prolonged period of high prices or constrained supply. In the context of the oil indust ...
that greatly decreased the demand for oil, causing prices to fall.


Appearances and interviews

Simmons made contributions to the films ''
Peak Oil – Imposed by Nature Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry) In solid geomet ...
'', '' The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil'' (
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
), ''
The End of Suburbia ''The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of The American Dream'' is a 2004 documentary film concerning peak oil and its implications for the suburban lifestyle, written and directed by Toronto-based filmmaker Gregory Greene. Desc ...
'', ''
Crude Impact ''Crude Impact'' is a 2006 film written and directed by James Jandak Wood. It is a documentary about the effect of fossil fuels on issues such as global warming, the environmental crisis, society and the questionable practices of oil companies. C ...
'', and '' Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash'', and appeared on World Energy Television ''World Energy Video Interview, August 2008''


Deepwater Horizon oil spill conjectures

Simmons made several controversial comments and predictions regarding the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill (also referred to as the "BP oil spill") was an industrial disaster that began on 20 April 2010 off of the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considere ...
and BP's solvency, including: * Talking with
Bloomberg TV Bloomberg Television (on-air as Bloomberg) is an American-based pay television network focusing on business and capital market programming, owned by Bloomberg L.P. It is distributed globally, reaching over 310 million homes worldwide. It is hea ...
's Mark Crumpton, Lizzie O'Leary and Julie Hyman about BP's oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, Simmons said, "If it were my family I'd evacuate now, while you still have time". * During a June 9, 2010, interview with Fortune, Simmons claimed that BP would "have about a month before they claim Chapter 11". * On June 9, 2010, Simmons was interviewed by
Barron's Barron's or Barrons may refer to: *Barron's Educational Series, a publisher of books, as well as college entrance exam preparation classes and materials, now an imprint of Kaplan Test Prep ** B.E.S. Publishing, the former owner of Barron's * ''Barr ...
journalist Tieman Ray. Simmons disclosed that he personally held an 8,000 share short position in BP stock. As BP's stock price went lower, Simmons was benefiting financially amid fears of bankruptcy. * During a July 7, 2010, interview on CNBC Simmons claimed that scientists were reporting the flow rate from the oil spill was "spewing 120,000 barrels a day into the Gulf" and that there have been estimates that we have "lost oxygen for 40% of the Gulf of Mexico". He further claimed that the relief wells will not stop the oil spill. * A week later, during a July 15, 2010 interview with
KPFK KPFK (90.7 FM) is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, United States, which serves Southern California, and also streams 24 hours a day via the Internet. It was the second of five stations in the non-commerci ...
Pacifica Los Angeles, Simmons asserted that the relief wells and the capping process on the Macondo wellhead are publicity stunts and that the real vent is up to ten miles (16 km) away. He said that an enormous pool of crude oil is accumulating below the sea floor, releasing poisonous gases and waiting to be whipped up by a hurricane. * Previously, on May 26, 2010, Matthew Simmons was a guest on 'The Dylan Ratigan Show' on
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
, where he explained his reasons for believing that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill involved not only the leak being monitored by BP's video-camera-equipped ROVs remotely operated vehicles, but another, much bigger leak, several miles away.


Wikileaks cable mention

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
reported that Simmons was mentioned in a leaked
U.S State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
cable dated November 2007: COMMENT: While al-Husseini believes that Saudi officials overstate capabilities in the interest of spurring foreign investment, he is also critical of international expectations. He stated that the IEA's expectation that Saudi Arabia and the Middle East will lead the market in reaching global output levels of over 100 million barrels/day is unrealistic, and it is incumbent upon political leaders to begin understanding and preparing for this "inconvenient truth." Al-Husseini was clear to add that he does not view himself as part of the "peak oil camp," and does not agree with analysts such as Matthew Simmons. He considers himself optimistic about the future of energy, but pragmatic with regards to what resources are available and what level of production is possible. While he fundamentally contradicts the Aramco company line, al-Husseini is no doomsday theorist. His pedigree, experience and outlook demand that his predictions be thoughtfully considered.


Death

Simmons was found dead on August 8, 2010, in his hot tub. An autopsy by the state medical examiner's office the next day concluded that he died from accidental drowning with heart disease as a contributing factor."Obituary: MATTHEW ROY SIMMONS 1943–2010"
''
Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...
''. August 26, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2010.


See also

*
Richard Heinberg Richard William Heinberg is an American journalist and educator who has written extensively on energy, economic, and ecological issues, including oil depletion. He is the author of 14 books, and presently serves as the senior fellow at the Pos ...
*
Jeremy Leggett Jeremy Leggett is a British social entrepreneur and writer. He founded and was a board director of Solarcentury from 1997 to 2020, an international solar solutions company, and founded and was chair of SolarAid, a charity funded with 5% of Sola ...
*
Dale Allen Pfeiffer Dale Allen Pfeiffer (March 30, 1958) is a geologist and writer from Michigan, U.S. who investigated and wrote about energy depletion and potential future resource wars. He also wrote about class war, sustainability, direct action and the environment ...
*
Peak oil Peak oil is the hypothetical point in time when the maximum rate of global oil production is reached, after which it is argued that production will begin an irreversible decline. It is related to the distinct concept of oil depletion; whil ...
*
Simmons–Tierney bet The Simmons–Tierney bet was a wager made in August 2005 between Houston banking executive Matthew R. Simmons and ''New York Times'' columnist John Tierney. The stakes of the bet were US$10,000.00. The subject of the bet was the year-end average ...
* Cornucopian


References


Further reading

* Matthew Simmons, '' Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy'' 2005 , The book has been translated into German and Chinese.


External links


Ocean Energy Institute
�� Simmons' last project, intended to eventually harvest massive reserves of wind energy offshore from Maine, using synthesis of ammonia fuel to be shipped by tanker. * // Integrity in Investment Research - Jim Jarrell's criticism of ''Twilight''
ASPO USA Peak Oil conference at Boston University, 27 October 2006


Matthew Simmons, 5 audio interviews: 6 August 2005 – 7 April 2007.
The Economist: Face Value
Review of Matthew Simmons in The Economist
Radio Broadcast
True News broadcast on June 28, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Matthew 1943 births 2010 deaths Futurologists American chief executives Sustainability advocates People from North Haven, Maine University of Utah alumni Harvard Business School alumni People from Kaysville, Utah Economists from Maine Economists from Utah