Saudi Aramco boss says world could have 4.5 trillion barrels oil

Saudi Aramco boss says world could have 4.5 trillion barrels oil

Vienna (Platts)--13Sep2006

Enhanced oil recovery techniques and other advances in technology could
boos the world's potentially recoverable oil reserves to more than 4.5
trillion barrels, translating into 140 years of supply at current rates of
consumption, Saudi Aramco CEO Abdullah Jum'ah said Wednesday.
"Our first technology target is finding new oil fields in order to
increase the world's conventional oil resource base. Current estimates of
total oil in place range between six and eight trillion barrels, but
historically the industry has been rather conservative with projections of oil
in place and proven reserves," Jum'ah told an OPEC seminar in Vienna.
"As technology has advanced and our understanding of petroleum geology
and reservoir behavior has increased, both numbers have grown steadily over
time," he said.
"Therefore I would like to challenge our explorationists to find enough
new resources for us to add one trillion barrels to world reserves over the
next 25 years," Jum'ah told the conference. "Ambitious? Yes. But I am
confident in our ability to attain the target," he said.
"Our second technology target is to leave the minimum amount of oil in
the ground, and maximize ultimate recovery from our known fields. Those
reservoirs hold proven reserves of more than 1.2 trillion barrels, with a
reserves potential estimated to be around 700 billion barrels," Jum'ah said.
"I believe we will eventually tally about a trillion barrels each from
yet-to-be-discovered fields and higher rates. Add these two trillion barrels
to 1.2 trillion barrels of current proven reserves and the 1.4 trillion
barrels of oil that can be extracted from non-conventional oil using current
technology, and we are looking at more than four and a half trillion barrels
of potentially recoverable oil. This number translates into more than 140
years of supply at today's current rate of consumption," he said.
"To put it another way, the world has only consumed about 18 percent of
its conventional and non-conventional producible potential, even leaving aside
oil shale potential. That fact alone should discredit the argument that 'peak
oil' is imminent and put our minds at ease concerning future petroleum
supplies," he said.
Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali Naimi has said the kingdom, with proven
reserves of 263 billion barrels, could ultimately double its reserves.
Jum'ah was asked where the one trillion barrels would come from, given
that there have been no major oil discoveries in recent years.
"In Saudi Arabia today, we have not had to draw down our reserves
probably in the last ten years because we have been adding to our reserves
every year at least as much as we have produced every year...Saudi Arabia is
under-explored and there is a potentially to probably adding 200 billion
barrels of oil 25, 30 years from now," he replied.
Saudi Arabia is currently producing around 9.2 million b/d of crude oil,
Naimi said in Vienna.

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