Peak oil is the claimed moment in time when global oil production reaches its maximum rate and henceforth forever declines. It is highly controversial as to whether or not peak oil represents cause for serious concern. My thesis explores how this controversy unfolds but brackets the ontological status of the reality indexed by the peak-oil concept. I do not choose a side in the debate; I look at the debate itself. I examine the energy outlook documents of ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron, Total and the International Energy Agency (IEA) as well as academic articles and documentaries. Through an in-depth analysis of peak-oil controversy via tenets of actor-network theory (ANT), I show that what is at stake are competing framings of reality itself, which must be understood when engaging with the contentious idea of peak oil. / Graduate