Re: World after oil
Obviously oil will not be out of the picture before a cheaper, mass usage energy alternative arrives on the scene. It looks though transportation is moving towards using fuel cells(hydrogen energy) which is renewable and clean source of energy.
For electricity production, solar can appear a viable alternative, but right now it is pretty costly and thus can not be mass produced. But researchers are working on photovoltaic cell technology to make them cheaper and more efficient which could make them a source of mass energy. There are indications future solar cells can be miniaturized so that small photovoltaic cells can be embedded in walls and roofs of houses and thus making the homes self sufficient in energy. This would save the cost of laying electric grid lines to transport electricity all along the country and could bring electrification in far flung rural areas.
Once you have a viable new source(s) of energy, oil price shall crash below 10 dollars a barrel and profit margin will become minimum as it will become a buyers market. This will dent the Russian economy but could result in crashing the middle eastern economies and unless they have some viable source of income they could go back to exporting fish and dates to the rest of the world and relying on religious tourism for income. The West most likely would also do a U-turn on their cosy relations with the Middle Eastern states.