Matthew Roy Simmons (April 7, 1943 – August 8, 2010) was founder and chairman emeritus of Simmons & Company International, and was a prominent figure in the field of peak oil. Simmons was motivated by the 1973 energy crisis 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. Simmons, who lived in Houston, Texas, died at his vacation home in North Haven, Maine, on August 8, 2010, at the age of 67. 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 oil reserves. He gave numerous presentations on peak oil and water shortages. Simmons believed that the Club of Rome's report, The Limits to Growth, is more accurate than usually acknowledged. Simmons was the founder of the Ocean Energy Institute in Maine. 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 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, 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 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 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, The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (2006), The End of Suburbia, Crude Impact, and Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash, and appeared on World Energy Television World Energy