I was once chatting with an ex-chemical engineer who worked for the petroleum industry. He said that it was impossible to accurately predict when the big oil fields in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf would be depleted. He said that it was possible the reserves in the big Saudi fields were grossly overstated and the world could have a nasty surprise when that oil was depleted. I listened to this story with some scepticism. Based upon that article you posted and what I've heard from other sources, within 50 years the whole world will be dependent upon Persian Gulf oil (a horrible thought!). I can't believe that extremely strategic information like proven reserves in the Saudi oil fields could be kept secret.

Another question: I listened to this radio documentary about the environmental effects of old oil fields. One of the richest oil fields in America was the Permian Basin in Texas. That oil field is now almost completely pumped out. Supposably when there was still a little dab of oil left in the Permian Basin, the big oil companies that originally developed the Basin sold their interests there to much smaller companies. These smaller companies then pumped out that little remaining dab of oil, went bankrupt and abandoned the oil fields. Now these abandoned oil wells are leaking out deep water that is extremely saline. This very salty water kills off the local vegetation and gets into the local water table rendering this higher ground water unusable. The radio documentary went on to say that no one was liable for this environmental damage because the oil company that last owned the field had gone broke. Have you heard any stories along this line? Is it true that the big oil companies can escape liability by simply selling the oil fields to someone else? Is there anyway to reduce the long term environmental damage from old oil wells?

Gary