I saw some natural gas futures at $7 just a week ago. Prudhoe has tremendous natural gas reserves and the Natural Gas Pipeline is a major political issue in Alaska. All of that product would go to the Midwest, but it would take about 7 years from the time pipe is ordered until gas is flowing. They don't even have their permits secured at this time, a two-year process from whenever they start. That means we are minimum 9 years from Prudhoe Gas.
Alberta drilled over 2k wells last year and their production is dead flat. When a oil well starts drying up there are numerous ways to jack up production. A gas well is like a ballon....great for a while and then instant deflation....
That Saudi field, Ghawar, largest in the world, was discovered 1948. The five super giant fields were all discoved between 1940 and 1965. Ghawar is now daily injecting over a million gallons of seawater, and the pumped oil is now 30% water which drives up the cost.
Look for some real increases in price in the next few years