Energy reserves in dispute

If the Saudis are right, there may some day be relief to high oil prices.

Some experts say that the Earth's oil reserves are smaller than we think. For example, Saudi Arabia, the global economy's gas tank, might not have the vast petroleum reserves its leaders claim, according to a new book rattling the energy industry. Royal Dutch/ Shell Group last year admitted overstating its oil reserves by about 25 percent.

Others maintain that crude is more plentiful than we suspect.

Federal rules force U.S. oil companies to underestimate the size of their reserves, a prominent energy research firm argued this spring in a widely circulated report. They can pump far more than their official estimates suggest

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Of course that won't do much to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, either, eh?