The media is full with news that there is a global oil glut. It was parroted by the Australian public broadcaster ABC TV, using this (unsuitable) opportunity to take a swipe at peak oil: Peak oil losing credibility as renewables shift accelerates 24/12/2015 “With the world awash with too much crude oil at the moment, the fear of an economic catastrophe when fossil fuels start running out is quietly fading in the background.” These stories go back to the IEA’s Monthly Oil Market Report (OMR), November 2015 which reads: “Stockpiles of oil at a record 3 billion barrels are providing world markets with a degree of comfort. This massive cushion has inflated even as the global oil market adjusts to $50/bbl oil.” So how much is 3 bn barrels? Let’s have a look at the statistics in the latest IEA OMR of December 2015. It’s only about OECD stocks, […]