Another possibility is that it will become possible (and cheap enough) to produce oil from other things, before it runs out. In that case it would seem reasonable to say that the peak oil theory was wrong.
And, as I remarked above, when Hubbert wrote his original paper about “peak oil” (at least, I think the thing I saw was his original paper), he explicitly said that coal can be used to make oil and gas, and that therefore diminishing oil extraction doesn’t have to mean no more oil.
Another possibility is that it will become possible (and cheap enough) to produce oil from other things, before it runs out. In that case it would seem reasonable to say that the peak oil theory was wrong.
It is possible to produce oil from coal. It’s not a new process, Germany used it widely during WW2 as it had little access to “regular” oil.
And, as I remarked above, when Hubbert wrote his original paper about “peak oil” (at least, I think the thing I saw was his original paper), he explicitly said that coal can be used to make oil and gas, and that therefore diminishing oil extraction doesn’t have to mean no more oil.