Bit of a tangent, but while we might plausibly run out of cheap oil in the near future, the supply of expensive, unconventional oil is vast. By vast I mean ‘several trillion barrels of known reserves’, against an annual consumption of 30bn.
Question is just how much of those reserves are accessible at each price point. This is really hard to answer well, so instead here’s an anecdote that’ll stick in your head: recent prices ($50-$100/bbl) are sufficient that the US is now the largest producer of oil in the world, and a net exporter to boot.
For what it’s worth, this whole unconventional oil thing has appeared from nowhere the last ten years, and it’s been a shock to a lot of people.
This is very true, Andy. Venezuela is the country that has the largest reserves but it’s very expensive to get it out. Technology will be the answer there.
Bit of a tangent, but while we might plausibly run out of cheap oil in the near future, the supply of expensive, unconventional oil is vast. By vast I mean ‘several trillion barrels of known reserves’, against an annual consumption of 30bn.
Question is just how much of those reserves are accessible at each price point. This is really hard to answer well, so instead here’s an anecdote that’ll stick in your head: recent prices ($50-$100/bbl) are sufficient that the US is now the largest producer of oil in the world, and a net exporter to boot.
For what it’s worth, this whole unconventional oil thing has appeared from nowhere the last ten years, and it’s been a shock to a lot of people.
This is very true, Andy. Venezuela is the country that has the largest reserves but it’s very expensive to get it out. Technology will be the answer there.