A new study by the University of California says that global oil will run out 90 years before replacement technologies are ready based on stock market expectations and the current pace of research.

Our results suggest it will take a long time before renewable replacement fuels can be self-sustaining, at least from a market perspective," said study author Debbie Niemeier, a UC Davis professor of civil and environmental engineering.

Long term investors are said to be good predictors of whether new energy technologies will become more prevalent. The study is published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

"Sophisticated investors tend to put considerable effort into collecting, processing and understanding information relevant to the future cash flows paid by securities," said Nataliya Malyshkina, co-author of the study said. "As a result, market forecasts of future events, representing consensus predictions of a large number of investors, tend to be relatively accurate."

The researchers analyzed market capitalizations and dividends of publicly owned oil companies and alternative-energy companies using a new tool.