Oil Expert: Only 18% of World's Oil Has Been Tapped

The alternative energy crowd is always telling us that we're running out of oil and that if we don't bankrupt our economy to invest in wind, solar or who knows what else, we'll all wake up one day in the dark. Maybe not:

The world has tapped only 18 percent of the total global supply of crude, a leading Saudi oil executive said Wednesday, challenging the notion that supplies are petering out.

Abdallah S. Jum’ah, president and CEO of the state-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known better as Aramco, said the world has the potential of 4.5 trillion barrels in reserves - enough to power the globe at current levels of consumption for another 140 years.

Jum’ah challenged oil ministers and petroleum executives at an OPEC conference in Vienna to step up exploration “and leave the minimum amount of oil in the ground.”

Meanwhile, gas prices continue to fall. I paid $2.84 yesterday in Escondido, which is the lowest I've seen for many months. Drudge has a report of $1.99 in Iowa (but who wants to go to Iowa?).

Political Wire reports that the falling gas prices will likely mean an improvement in President Bush's approval rating (and improvement in GOP chances in November). I documented one study awhile ago that demonstrated how gas prices seemed to be directly connected to presidential approval ratings. You can look at the information here.

This has got to have the Dems a little nervous.