With the global economy heading towards a severe oil crunch probably by 2015 or thereabouts, an analysis of Saudi oil fundamentals is causing the world disquiet and worry bordering on panic. Oil-importing nations have long treated Saudi Arabia as an infinitely deep well of crude oil supplies....

"Oil is an unusual commodity in that individual decisions can have an outsized effect on the market. A Saudi minister's choice to increase production, for instance, might send prices falling, which will therefore affect both oil producers and consumers worldwide. What do the leading oil market...