the fact that oil is migrating from deeper and is not necassarily in discoverable positions, that deeper reserves are out there.
When I was in college in the mid and late 70's, the same stats were tossed about by "authoratitve" sources that we woul be out of oil by the 90's.
My Grandfather, who grew up in Massachusets, told me how as a young boy the "authortaitve" sources of the day knew that oil would run out by the 1920's.
This naive analysis ahs existed throughout time ansd has been proven wrong by the facts everytime.
Will oil become uneconomical someday?
Yes.
Will we have developed alternatives for it by then?
Yes.
For example, good technology exists right now that turns vegetable oils into good diesel fuel and motor oils, actually superior in some ways to petroleum based products.
These are being used in small quantities as we speak.
Fuel cells have been discussed here often.
Most people that post here are infomred enough to know that nuclear energy is very vialble as an energy source, both environmentally and economically.
The problem with it is political.
If nuke was in full use right now, the price of oil would be much lower and the air of the world would be much cleaner.
Ed