Tech key to Recovery Old Oil

As if to further make my earlier point about oil production, the OWH helpfully chimes in.

"Within the last decade, technology advances have made it possible to unlock more oil from old fields. At the same time, higher oil prices have made it economical for companies to go after reserves that are harder to reach.With plenty of oil still left in familiar locations, forecasts that the world's reserves are drying out have given way to predictions that more oil can be found than ever before."

And yes, the Peak Oilers are finding it hard to convince anyone serious that their pet theory is correct.

"There is still a minority view, held largely by a small band of retired petroleum geologists and some members of Congress, that oil production has peaked, but the theory has been fading."

Again, as oil prices go up, it becomes feasible to go back into old fields and resume production, as well as explore and produce in difficult terrain. Approximately two-thirds of the oil in older fields has been left remianing in the ground, as it was formerly unprofitable to go to great lenghts to recover it. It also becomes feasible to start producing from deposits like Canadian tar sands.

"Typically, oil companies can produce only one barrel for every three they find. Two usually are left behind, either because they are too hard to pump out or because it would be too expensive to do so. Going after these neglected resources, energy experts say, represents a tremendous opportunity."

The head of reserve management at Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia's national oil company) is also noted as saying that the kingdom's true reserves are triple the "recoverable" figure of 260 million barrels, the largest on paper reserves in the world, and that new seismic tools greatly aid in both exploration and energy production.