Glen, peak oil is hotly contested. All too often those opining on the subject are paid to do so, have a vested interest, or are basing opinions on what's unverifiable. It's tough to know who to trust on the subject. I trust that people will pay more and more for this necessary scarce resource so about 1/3 of my portfolio has been in this area for many years.
We can all agree there's only so much oil available on the planet, it does not replenish itself in the short timespan of post-industrial human civilization, the world population and world economy (and therefore worldwide demand) is growing, middle-classes are emerging, and most of the low laying fruit has been picked (i.e. the easy to get to / non-controversial wells have been tapped.
There does eventually come a time when there really is more demand than the supply. This can possibly be offset temporarily from an unexpected find, or by eventual adaptation of alternatives. In addition, the Saudi's (and other petroleum exporting countries) may not accurately report their holdings and remaining capacity.
It may be arrogant or short-sighted for today's society to declare peak oil in our midst. Ceterus parabus, peak oil will happen. It has to happen just like eventually (like in 5 billion years) the sun runs out too. For peak oil, it could be three generations from now, 20, 30, 50 years, who knows?
Oil is a scarce resource demanded more and more by the economy.
-Andrew
