rynning said:
The "experts" have been saying we're about to run out of oil since the 70s. Maybe that's true this time, or maybe they'll find new sources and better ways to get it like they've been doing for the last 50 years.
I just don't think there's any reason to artificially influence the market either way. There won't be a "moment" that oil suddenly dries up and becomes unaffordable. It may just happen naturally over time, and free markets will be there with alternatives people want without the government "knowing best."
What did I say? I said it will happen gradually when stations order product and there will be a few gallons less available than asked for. It will not suddenly dry up. If you worked in the business you'd be familiar with production decline curves which are asymptotic on the low end. That means lots of wells producing a little oil for a long time. Yes, there is always infill drilling and better technology to get those resources/reserves. Just know that as much oil as has been produced to date, there is more left in the ground in those same fields as technologically unrecoverable oil. Until the technology changes. But realistically, we are (slowly) running out of it. And there are some countries who have it in relative abundance (Russia) who are not inclined to supply it to others they don't like.
Would you feel better if "the powers that be" lay out in front of us what our options are for the future of energy supply given knowledge of when changes should be made or if they ever need to be changed? The later being oil is abundant and we never will run out. Yes, the first predictions of the end of oil was that we'd run out in the 70s.
Again, this is way off topic. Can you see you or your wife or future wife driving around town in an EV? I am all for expanding and improving this technology. I should swear off replying anymore here. We all know how the others feel.
And to make all of you feel better, with a quick search, I find estimates place all the oil ever produced in the world at 1.5 trillion barrels of oil. And remaining recoverable oil is 1.6 trillion barrels of oil. All the while demand increases and will increase until the end of the oil era.