Many experts doubt the ability of Saudi Arabia to increase its output, Klare says.

Question: Will power shift from big oil producers to smaller ones?

Michael Klare: Well, we are already beginning to see that. I should say that Saudi Arabia may be able to increase its production there is so lot of debate among specialists in the field about this. The Saudis claim that they could increase their production, but many experts say that they are concealing the truth about their ability to increase their output, that in fact their major fields are in decline and then in new fields that they are bring online will be needed to compensate for their decline of their older fields. The same thing is true in Russia, it is older fuels are in decline, they are bringing on line newer fields and the far east of Oaklyn island, but those fields probably will be needed to compensate for the decline of all their fields. So, there really aren’t too many other places where you are going to see an increase and those are going to be hotly contested.

Recorded: 3/14/08