World Oil Resources: An Economic Approach to Appraisal
Oil will remain a basic component of the world energy balance for no less than 30–40 years ahead. Estimates of the world oil resources vary substantially. The authors present their own estimate of recoverable resources of liquid hydrocarbons (crude oil and condensate) distributed by major regions of the non-Socialist world and differentiated by technical costs of oil production. Most important factors affecting oil production costs are characterized. Until 2020, cumulative world oil demand could be met by development of oil resources with production costs which do not exceed $45/t level (in 1987 US$). However, whilst the bulk of undiscovered resources of cheap, low-cost oil is concentrated in the developing countries, the oil potential of the developed market economies is almost exclusively represented by hard-to-access, high-cost resources.