Mexico versus North Dakota: keeping an eye on the peak

A quick snapshot of the difficulties in keeping up with peak oil comes from two news stories.

First, Mexico's big oil fields seem to have hit peak. Mexico's a huge player in the oil market. Crossing past peak means bad news for their federal government, along with impacts internationally.

Meanwhile, the US government announces that a North Dakota formation might have up to 4.3 billion barrels of oil which we can tap with current technology. What to make of it? Perhaps it's the biggest oil find in US history. Or maybe it's overrated.

It's tempting to plunge into either of these stories. They seem like rabbit holes, especially for those new to energy policy. It's even more daunting to think about fitting these stories into the larger picture of global oil resources.