In a statement sent to Rigzone recently, Rystad Energy revealed that according to its research, total global recoverable oil reserves now stand at 1.624 trillion barrels.
Rystad highlighted in the statement that since the company’s previous reserves report, 30 billion barrels of crude have been extracted, “the same level as in 2018 and 2019,” and revealed that they have added 84 billion barrels in fields, discoveries and exploration prospects. The increase in reserves in producing fields and approved projects in 2022 amounts to 71 billion barrels, while 13 billion barrels were found in new discoveries during 2022, Rystad noted.
While 1.624 trillion barrels of oil are technically recoverable, less than 1.3 trillion barrels are likely to be economically viable before 2100 at an average Brent price of $50 a barrel, Rystad noted in the statement.
“The upstream sector is working hard to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from oil fields, but even with these mitigation measures and government efforts, if global warming is successfully limited to 1.6 °C, only half of the world’s recoverable reserves would be needed,” Rystad Energy CEO Jarand Rystad said in a company statement.
In his statement, Rystad revealed that Saudi Arabia ranks first in terms of total recoverable oil at 273 billion barrels.
The United States ranks second with 186 billion barrels, Russia ranks third with 140 billion barrels and Canada ranks fourth with 122 billion barrels, Rystad said in the statement.
In a chart accompanying the statement, the majority of Saudi Arabia’s recoverable oil is classified as “other in the ground,” while the majority of U.S. recoverable oil is classified as shale oil/tight oil. Most of Russia’s recoverable oil is also classified as other onshore on the chart, and most of Canada’s recoverable oil is classified as oil sands.
Each year, Rystad shares an update of its analysis of the global energy landscape and provides an independent, data-driven assessment of the world’s recoverable oil reserves, Rystad said in the statement. Recoverable oil corresponds to the industry term “remaining technically recoverable crude oil and lease condensate,” meaning expected volumes, including deposits, discoveries and future discoveries at risk, the company clarified in the statement.
Rystad noted in the statement that the timestamp of its most recent resource assessment is Jan. 1, 2023.
Total previous proven bookings
According to the latest World Energy Statistical Review to show oil reserves information, which was released by BP in 2021, total global proven oil reserves stood at 1.732 trillion barrels at the end of 2020.
Of this figure, 1.472 trillion was found in non-OECD countries, 1.214 trillion was found in OPEC countries, 517.7 billion in non-OPEC countries, 260 billion in OECD countries and 2.4 billion in Europe, BP’s 2021 statistical review. The World Energy showed itself.
The country with the most proven oil reserves at the end of 2020 was Venezuela, with 303.8 billion barrels, according to the review, which ranked Saudi Arabia second with 297.5 billion barrels, and Canada third with 168.1 billion of barrels
The world’s total proved reserves stood at 1.734 trillion barrels at the end of 2019, 1.636 trillion barrels at the end of 2010 and 1.300 trillion barrels at the end of 2000, the review noted.
The country with the most proven oil reserves at the end of 2019 was also Venezuela, with the same figure it had at the end of 2020, the review notes. Venezuela also ranked first at the end of 2010 with 296.5 billion barrels and Saudi Arabia ranked first at the end of 2000 with 262.8 billion barrels, according to the review.
BP’s 2022 Statistical Review of World Energy had no information on oil reserves. The latest Statistical Review of World Energy, which was published by the Energy Institute (EI) in June, also had no information on oil reserves.
In February, BP and IS announced in a joint statement that the new “custodian” of the statistical review of world energy would be EI.
To contact the author, please send an email andreas.exarcheas@rigzone.com
