WikiLeaks: Peak Oil in 2012?

Could “peak oil”—the point after which global production of oil will decline as a result of depleted supply—arrive as soon as 2012? That’s what one Saudi government oil executive warned, according to new diplomatic cables from the WikiLeaks dump. The executive, Sadad al-Husseini, said that Saudi Arabia may have overstated its oil reserves by as much as 40 percent in order to attract foreign investment. Consequently, Saudi Arabia will probably be unable to thwart rising oil prices by pumping more oil, al-Husseini said. The U.S. diplomat sending the cable to Washington wrote, "While al-Husseini fundamentally contradicts the Aramco company line, he is no doomsday theorist. His pedigree, experience and outlook demand that his predictions be thoughtfully considered."