Oil's Well

A friend warns that, with China and India developing fast and sucking up more oil, the days of permanent shortage are here, and oil is sure to go over $100 a barrel.

But as of last year, The Economist was lamenting that proven oil reserves rose only slightly over the year before. But note this: they are still rising. We are not, by all indications, running out of oil. The year before, The Economist featured a memorable headline reading "Drowning in oil?"

I do not believe things have changed that quickly.

The UAE has more than a hundred years’ supply still in the ground, at today’s pumping levels, even if no more is found. And all this does not factor in unconventional sources like Alberta’s tar sands.

Whatever is pushing the price of oil up these dahys, it is more likely to be a temporary thing.