Ali Morteza Samsam Bakhtiari (1945 – 30 October 2007) was an Iranian author and oil expert employed by the
National Iranian Oil Company
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC; fa, شرکت ملّی نفت ایران, Sherkat-e Melli-ye Naft-e Īrān) is a government-owned national oil and natural gas producer and distributor under the direction of the Ministry of Petroleum of ...
(NIOC). He held a number of senior positions with this organization beginning in 1971. He was also an adviser to the
Oil Depletion Analysis Centre
The Oil Depletion Analysis Centre (ODAC) is an independent, UK-registered educational charity. The centre is working to raise international public awareness and promote better understanding of the world's oil depletion and peak oil problem. I ...
.
Biography
Bakhtiari was a member of the
Bakhtiari tribe.
He held a Ph.D. in
chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials in ...
from the
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in
Zurich,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. He had been a part-time lecturer for the Technical Faculty at
Tehran University
The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching p ...
for many years. Bakhtiari wrote a number of short essays and is the author of ''Peaks and Troughs'' which is about the modern
history of Iran.
Bakhtiari suggested that it would require an act of god for the world to avoid warring over depleting
energy
In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of ...
resources
Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which are technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and wants. Resources can broadly be classified upon their av ...
. He also believed that a peak in
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...
would be more shocking than
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 ...
because natural gas is less fluid and requires
pipelines and
LNG facilities to export overseas.
Bakhtiari was featured in the 2004 documentary ''
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 ...
''.
Bakhtiari died suddenly of a heart attack in 2007. His funeral and burial were in Tehran. He was survived by his children, Amir Bahman and Golbenaz Samsam Bakhtiari.
Quotes
*"The big risk in Saudi Arabia is that
Ghawar's rate of decline increases to an alarming point. That will set bells ringing all over the oil world because Ghawar underpins Saudi output and Saudi undergirds worldwide production."
*"As for Iran, the usually accepted official is almost over any realistic assay."
Bibliography
*
*
See also
*
Colin Campbell
*
Kenneth S. Deffeyes
*
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 ...
*
Chris Skrebowski
Chris Skrebowski is a well-known commentator on the oil industry and an expert on global oil supply. He is the founding Director of Peak Oil Consulting and consulting editor for '' Petroleum Review'', the magazine of the UK Energy Institute. Skr ...
*
Matthew Simmons
References
External links
A collection of articles written by Bakhtiari
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakhtiari, Ali Morteza Samsam
2007 deaths
Date of birth missing
1945 births
Bakhtiari people
People from Masjed Soleyman
20th-century Iranian engineers
Iranian non-fiction writers
20th-century non-fiction writers
Deaths from heart disease