The opinions expressed in POPULAR SCIENCE ...

"Dramatic breakthroughs that would diminish the cost of hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water - high efficiency photovoltaics or cold fusion -- have not materialized, leaving that route still too costly to compete with fossil energy sources. On top of that, we never came close to running out of oil. Instead, the discovery of petroleum reserves continued to outstrip increases in demand, keeping prices low (except for a few periods of artificial shortages)."

Editorial, October 1993, page 67

The facts, as gathered by L.F. Ivanhoe ...

Actual Petroleum Discoveries, Extraction, and Consumption in recent years:

Location Discovered Extracted Consumed
U.S. Petroleum 1977-91 5 B barrels 45 B barrels 92 B barrels
World Petroleum 1982-1991 91 B barrels 221 B barrels 221 B barrels


from Science, Vol 236, May 15, 1987, page 763, and the author's sources of more recent information