(Independent Online) Saudi Arabia- the biggest oil producer, and Exxon Mobil, the largest oil company, yesterday declared that the world had decades' worth of oil to come, in an attempt to calm fears about the record prices experienced in recent weeks. […] (Saudi oil minister) Ali al-Naimi said talk of oil scarcity reminded him of the 1970s, when people also thought the end of the age of oil was at hand. "But in the intervening years, when we were supposedly facing a precipitous decline, world oil reserves more than doubled," he said.

I think they may be a little worried about the “demand” side of this relationship. Hybrid cars were not a reality in 1970 though (see: Hybrids For Everyone). The Middle East has had us in a head lock over their oil for some time. This could spell the end of their heavy influence in world politics.