The U.S. has now crossed Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil-producer. Ofcourse, the relative position is not so important, but this comes from an increase in U.S. production. The U.S. had high production in the 1970s and 1980’s, but that fell off. Now, its back to its hey day and crossing it, going to new highs.
On 4/6/2004 at 1:24 AM, DavidV said:
The deeper answer is that the human mind is the ultimate resource – and it’s one we’ll never run out of, as long as men are free.
Quoted for being insightful, 12 years later.
Checking back a few years later to see what has happened. The previous post said 2011 reserves were about 1500 bbl. Now, 2016, they’re about 1600 bbl.
A recent article in Bloomberg talks about how “proven reserves” have dropped, Not because we’ve used them, but because the price of oil has fallen, and because companies are saying they’ll take a longer time to extract the oil.
Here’s the price of oil (WTI, i.e. a US-focus). The world didn’t end when prices were over $100 a barrel. Indeed, given the huge taxes in Europe, I’d expect that the US could cope with $200-250 a barrel with a few years of adjustment. Of course, a price like that will increase the amount of proven reserves!
