Yet some experts suggest that production capacity could be as
limiting as the finite amount of oil available to extract around
the world. "It's an undeniable fact that there's a lot of oil
under the ground in the Middle East," said Jim Meyer, director
of the Oil Depletion Analysis Centre (ODAC), a London-based
nonprofit. "But there have been some very serious questions
raised about the ability of the Saudi Arabians, and of the
Middle East nations in general, to increase production
substantially above current levels. The IEA has suggested that
Saudi Arabia can double or triple production over the next 30
years, and that seems an impossibility to many experts." System
at Full Capacity Today's high prices don't necessarily signify
the immediate end of cheap oil. Rather, they reveal an oil
production system that is running at full capacity with little
surplus, experts say. "Whenever any factory or system runs at
full capacity, prices get tight," Kaufmann, the Boston
University professor, said. "That's part of the