^ this...
yes, to cornucopians, rising oil price is all a big conspiracy... a 550% price increase over 12 years has had nothing to do with supply constraints, and is merely the result of artificial suppression of flow rates, keeping the oil in the ground so they can jack the price up. ... you know, by leftists.
where they all met to get their story straight, and how no one has leaked any of it remains quite the mystery.
If you are talking about OIL prices instead of GASOLINE, then politics, fear, terrorism & war have driven supply & oil prices far more than market based supply & demand. If Iran gets attacked oil price will spike by $40. When Osama hit US on 9/11 oil price jumped 30%. When we killed Osama oil price dropped 30%. When Bush opened the OCS to drilling oil price fell over $100. When Obama took office oil price rose $90.
Those are all short-term fluctuations. Read my post again, slower. I mentioned a 550% increase over 12 years. Over a span that long, such a trend has to do with nothing OTHER than supply constraints, as confirmed by the VP of Saudi-Aramco, and countless others in the industry.
You're still not accounting for how/why all those entities admit we are at peak. Or, if you prefer, you're still not accounting for the fact that C+C flow rates have barely moved in 6 years. Saying "we don't need to because of (more expensive) alternative A, B and C" isn't the correct answer.