The Petrostate's in the Middle East are shipping out oil and money. A weird situation. How long can they go on ? When they run out of money they will turn into Venezuela.
At their present rate Saudi Arabia will have burned through their $750 billion SWF in about 3 to 4 years. Their depleted out old fields can no longer produce enough oil to cover the Kingdom's cost. Once they can no longer feed their populations they will blow up into a hundred little factions fighting over the scraps. Saudi Arabia is a good example of what the entire world is now facing.
60% of the world's production comes from less than 1% of its fields; they are the old depleted out Giants; many of them are found in the Middle East. They are the glue that holds the entire world's geopolitical fabric together; they supply 6 out of every 10 barrels of the world's economic life blood; oil. Like Saudi Arabia's Giants they will soon no longer be able to produce enough oil to hold together the world's economies, and societies. Like Saudi Arabia the world will blow up into a thousand little factions fighting over the scraps. When oil can no longer power enough of the world's economies to keep a global integrated production system functioning it will dissolve into chaos from its own internal strife. Petroleum's ability to power the world's economy does not have to fall to zero to crash the present system. It only has to fall far enough to tear apart some of the societies that are required to keep it functioning.
Today we see a world in economic and political turmoil. Nations around the globe are dissolving into internal chaos. Economics and politics are tearing apart once stable and productive societies. Depletion of the world's most essential commodity is being felt at every corner of the globe. There is no need for waiting to see the effects of the end of the oil age; they are already here!
http://www.thehillsgroup.org/
There will be many who disagree with such a determination. There will also be many who will in the future be sitting in their caves and grass huts trying to determine why their Iphones no longer work.