06v08p0083 world oil resources

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Section VI I I - Paper 9

U.S. .

WORLD OIL RESOURCES

Paul D. Torr ey *

C.L.

Moore-

George H. Weber

Abstract, World p r imar y o i l reserves are est imated to be

297 b i l l ion barre ls and wor ld secondary reserves are

est imated to be 13 4 b i l l ion barre ls o r a to ta l o f 431 b i l l ion

barre ls of recoverable o i l . In format ion on which these

est imat ions are based has been suppl ied i n large part by

nat ional author i t ies of m ost of the o i l -produc ing nat ions.

Al l sources of in form at ion are indent i f ied.

World o i l product ion has amounted to about 131 b i l l ion

barre ls to the end of 1961. The Uni ted States of Am erica

has produced s l ight ly over hal f o f th is amount . Sl ight ly

over hal f o f the World ’s to ta l product ion has been ob-

tained since 1950.

In addi tion to a cons iderat ion of proved pr im ary reserves,

in format ion is g iven on the amount of o i l or ig ina l ly in

p lace and the amount of o i l that ca n be obta ined by f lu id

injection operations.

There are at least 100 b i l l ion barre ls of o i l in the Atha-

basca o i l sands of the Dominion of Canada which are not

inc luded in reserve est imat ions.

Growth of the o i l industry in the Western Hemisphere is

at a reduced rate. Elsewhere o i l reserves have been in-

creas ing at a phenomenal rate s ince World War II. The

Middle East is the greatest potent ia l source of o i l supply .

Discover ies in Afr ica a re so recen t tha t the re i s no t su f -f ic ient product ion h is tory to evaluate proper ly the i r

magnitude. The growth of oi l reserves in the Sov iet Union

is notable. In the Fa r East o i l development has been in-

f luenced by inaccess ib i li ty , l imi ted local markets , and un-

certa in pol i t ica l condi t ions.

Approx imate ly 1.6 t r i l l ion barre ls of o i l have been d is-

covered in the World ’s f ie lds and under present ex-

pectat ions around 35 per cent of th is amount wi l l be re-

covered.

Suf f ic ient o i l has been found to supply the World ’s ant i -

c ipated future consumpt ion for severa l decades to come.

Improvements in the ef f ic iency of o i l recovery wi l l serve

to extend the avai lab i l i ty of known reserves.

Résumé. Les réserves pétro l ières mondia les pr imai res

sont est imées à 297 mi l l iards de bar i ls et les réserves

secondaires mondiales à 138 mi l l iards de bar i ls , so i t

un tota l de 431 mi l l iards de bar i ls explo i tab les. Pour

la p lupart , ces ch i ff res sont basés sur des renseignements

fourn is par les autor i tés nat ionales des pr inc ipaux pays

producteu rs de pétro le. Toutes les sources d ’ in form at ion

sont identi f iées.

La produ ct ion pétro l ière mondia le, à l a f in de 1961, s’éle-

vai t à env i ron 131 mi l l iards de bar i ls dont un peu p lus

de la m oi t ié a été produ i te par les Etats Unis d ’Amérique.

Un peu p lus de la moi t ié de la product ion mondia le to ta le

est postér ieure à 1950.

Outre les réserves pr imai res d ont l ’ex istence est prouvée,des renseignements ont été données sur les réserves

pétro l ières qui se t rouvaient en p lace à l ’ o r ig ine e t su r

cel les qui peuvent êt re at te intes par in jec t ion de f lu ides.

II y a au moins 100 mi l l iards de bar i ls de pétro le dans

les sables pétro l iers d ’Athabasca, dans le Dominion du

Canada, qui ne sont pas compris dans l ’es t imat ion des

réserves.

Le taux d’accroissement des réserves de l ’ industrie pé-

t ro l ière dans l ’Hémisphère Occ identa l est actuel lement

rédui t . Ai lleurs , les réserves petro l ières sont e n augmen-

tat ion depuis la Deuxième Guerre Mondia le, à un taux

except ionnel . Le Moyen Or ient est la source potent ie l lela p lus r iche pour la product ion de pétro le. En Afr ique,

les découvertes sont te l lement récentes que l ’h istor ique

de leur product ion est insuf f isant pour permett re une

évaluat ion c orrecte de leur étendue. L ’augmentat ion des

réserves pétro l ières e n Union Sov iét ique est notable. En

Extrême Orient, le développement du pé tro le e st in f luencé

pa r le manque de voies d’accès, des marchés locaux

l imités et des condit ions pol i t iques incertaines.

Env i ron 1.600 mi l l iards de bar i ls de pétro le ont été

découverts dans le monde e t on prév oi t ac tuellement que

35 % de ce m ontant sera explo i té.

On a t rouvé suf f isamment de pétro le pour sat is fa i re la

consommat ion mondia le prévue pour p lus ieurs décadesà venir. Les améliorations apportées dans l ’eff icacité des

modes d ’explo i ta t ion pétro l ière serv i ro nt à étendre la d is-

ponib i l i té des réserves connues.

* Authors’ Biographies vide page 95 .

83



Introduction

World primary oil reserves have been estimated

to amount to 297 billion barre ls of crude oil as a

result of the s tudy on which this paper i s based.

This figure does not differ radically from estimations

made by other people, but th e most significant resultof the present study is that th e total recoverable

reserve in the World's oil fields is almost 431 bil-

lion barre ls of crude oil by reason of the possibilities

for application of proved methods of fluid injection

into oil reservoirs. These and other findings have

been developed as a result of th e suggestion of the

late Dr. Ing. h.c. Günther Schlicht, who was familiar

with studies that had been made by th e sen ior author

on United States Oil Resources for the Interstate

Oil Compact Commission. Dr. Schlicht expressed the

opinion at the Fifth World Petroleum Congress that

an inventory of "World Oil Resources," similar to

the studies that had been made in the United

States , would supply useful information on which

the future use of hydrocarbons could be projected.

With this encouragement, government officials and

oil company executives in every oil producing nation

were solicited to furnish the following information

for their respective countries:

1 -Estimation of Original Oil Content of Reser-

2 -Total Oil Production to 1/1/62

3- 961 Oil Production

4 -Pr imary Oil Reserves as of 1/1/62

5 -Additional Recovery that May be Obtainedby Injection of Gas or Water into Reservoirs

It was emphasized that s tatistic s for the study

were to be dated as of J anu ary 1, 1962 so that in-

formation on exploration and production activities

in each oil-producing nation during 1961 could be

included. It was recognized that it would not be

possible to de lay the preparat ion of the pape r suffi-

ciently so that statist ics for 1962 could b e included.

Originally, it had been planned to include reserves

of natu ral gas and of natural gas liquids along with

reserves of cru de oil so that an estimation of the

total hydrocarbon reserve might be made. It soon

became evident that it was n ot going to b e feasible

to make such a comprehensive study, for complete

information on th e production of hydrocarbon gases

could not be obtained for many of the older oil

producing regions because of th e tremendous and

unmeasured waste of gas which accompanied the

voirs

production of oil in the earlie r fields. Thus, and w

considerable regret, the decision had to be m

to confine this s tudy to crude oil resources alone

The meticulous effort that has been devoted

the development of authentic information on the

resources of many of th e nations is ver y evid

from the detailed nature of the reports that hbeen submitted. Unfortunately, when all of the figu

from a nation are combined to form one line o

table, it does not begin to indicate the great amo

of work that has been required for the compila

of t he basic information. It is regretted that sp

limitations prevent the inclusion of a great part

the detailed information which has been supplied

the authors.

Where information on a country's oil resour

could not be obtained from national sources,

source of information avail able to the author

identified. Questions as to the accuracy of figu

from certain countries are noted in the tables

provide a criterion a s to their reliability.

Units of Measurement

One of t he problems that has confronted the

thors in the utilization of th e information supp

to them has been the different units of measure

which oil production and oil reserves have b

reported. Four different units of measure are u

commonly throughout the World to record oil pduction. These are :

Barrels of 42 U S . Gallons

Cubic Meters = 6.3 US. Barrels

Long Tons = 2,240 pounds

Metric Tons = 2,204.6 pounds

Because of th e difference in specific gravi ty

the crude oil produced from various countries th

is no constant factor that can be used to con

metric tons to barrels and vice versa. Convers

factors, developed by the United S tates Bureau

Mines, have been used in this paper and are lis

in the tables re lating to oil resources.

The use of the weight of oil produced, a s a m

uremen t of production and rese rves, is unfortun

and unrealistic because all measurements of

reservoir characteristics, b y necessity, have to

on a volumetric basis. Consequently, cubic me

as a measurement of oil reserves and oil produc

84 V



Figure 1

is preferable to metric tons, for the factor required

to convert cubic meters to US . barrels is a constant

which does not change because of difference in the

specific gravity of the oil produced from different

fields.The World Petroleum Congress could make a most

useful contribution to industry if it would suggest

easily converted standards for the measurement of

crude oil.

World Oil Production

It is not intended that this paper should consider

details of the history of World oil production even

though past discoveries and past production of crude

oil have influenced directly the availability of World

Oil Resources. Thus, since production serves to re-duce the future availability of oil by the amount

which has been produced, the record of production

from the principal oil regions is presented in Table

No. I, at the end of the paper. This record, also, is

shown graphically in Figure No. 1.

The year 1857 has been used as the beginning of

commercial world production, for this is the year

when shallow reservoirs were first developed in

Rumania. Two years later oil was discovered in

Pennsylvania and this notable event represents thebeginning of the oil industry in the United States.

It is significant to note from Table No. I that the

cumulative oil production of the United States i s

slightly over one half of total world production,

even though the amount of oil produced in the

United States in relation to the rest of the World

has been declining in Post World War II years.

It is, likewise, most significant, as can be seen

from Table No. I, that slightly over one-half of the

World's total production has been obtained since

1950.

A comparison of the cumulative production listedin Table No.1 with composite figures in Table No.

VI1 will show that some minor discrepancies exist

which cannot be reconciled except by a great

amount of investigation which is completely beyond

the authors' ability to perform. It will be obvious

VI1119 85



that these differences actually are so small, when

they are compared with the magnitude of many of

the other figures which have been used, that they

cannot be detected from the drawings which ac-

company this paper. They can be attributed to va-

rious conditions which have affected the accuracy

of production and reserve reports and records such

as: the inclusion of liquified petroleum gases with

crude oil in certain countries; changes in the owner-

ship of fields brought about by adjustments in na-

tional boundaries; the use of different factors to

convert metric tons to U.S. barrels and vice versa;

and because some countries include waste oil which

has not been considered by companies operating in

them.

In practically all cases the figures which have

been submitted by national authorities have been

accepted. They usually are slightly lower than those

available from other sources. It is assumed that

they are based on the most reliable informationobtainable.

Incomplete figures indicate that the trend of an-

nual World oil production has continued to rise in

1962. It is also notable that the potential producing

capacity of the World's oil fields is considerably

greater than the production obtained from them in

recent years. The amount of excess producing ca-

pacity is not precisely determinable but it is be-

lieved to be one fifth to one quarte r of 1961 pro-

duction.

World Oil Resources

For the purpose of this paper, World Oil Resources

have been classified into five subdivisions which

are based on geography and on the importance of

oil production and oil reserves. These subdivisions

are: Western Hemisphere, Europe and the Soviet

Union, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, Australia

and Oceania. Statistics on the oil resources of these

regions are given in tables at the end of th is paper

and estimations of their oil resources are shown in

illustrations which accompany the text.

All statistics on oil resources are identified pre-

ceding Table No. II.The study on which this report is based differs

from other considerations of recoverable oil in that

it includes estimations of t he oil that exis ted origin-

ally in the reservoirs of t he World's fields. Such

estimations are believed to be important because

they enable by a simple calculation a determinat

of the average efficiency of oil recovery for e

oil producing country according to present exp

ations. Recovery efficiency, expressed as the p

cent of oil that is recoverable, is listed in Colu

10 of the respective oil resources tables.

It will be recognized tha t estimations of the

ginal content of oil reservoirs could not be m

until technological progress had advanced sufficien

to permit an evaluation of the volumetric capac

of reservoir rocks and of the fluids contained

them. Such knowledge did not become availa

generally until after World War II.

Figures on cumulative production, 1961 producti

and primary reserves, given in Columns 2, 3 an

of the respective oil resources tables, will be und

stood and require no special explanation.

A significant innovation to information on oil

sources will be found in Column 5 of the respect

oil resources tables. This column shows the additial oil that may be recovered by the injection of

and water into oil reservoirs. It is patterned a

similar studies that have been made on Un

States Oil Resources for the Interstate Oil Comp

Commission.1

If the primary reserves are added to the reser

that may be recovered from fluid injection op

ations, as has been done in Column No. 6 of the

spective oil resources tables, it will be seen that

recoverable reserves of quite a few countries

increased substantially.

The authors believe that estimations of oil

covery from fluid injection operations are justif

by the record of continuous secondary and press

maintenance operations in the United States, so

of which have been active for a period of 35 ye

It is believed that the record of the results obtai

from these projects along with the records of s

ilar but generally more recent operations in ot

countries are sufficiently dependable to bë used

a criterion for the estimation of the possible addit

al recovery that can be obtained from many of

world's oil fields.

Columns 7 and 8 show the regional rank of e

oil producing country.Column 9 shows how rapidly each oil produc

country is producing its known reserves.

Column 10 indicates how efficient the recov

of oil will be in each producing country accord

to present recovery expectations.

86 V



The authors are aware that there are other oil

recovery methods in process of development which

may find wide application and which may serve to

increase greatly the amount of oil listed in Column

5. These methods include the use of solvents such

as alcohols and liquified petroleum gases in the

miscible phase displacement process; various formsof high pressure gas injection including vertical gas

drive; the use of carbonated water in what is known

as the Orco Process; and the application of heat to

oil reservoirs. In the latest report on United States

Oil Resources', an attempt has been made to eva-

luate the possibilities of these methods in the oil

fields of that country. It is known that some of

them are being applied on an experimental basis in

other countries but sufficient information is not

available to determine how successful they are

going to be outside of the United States. The best

conclusion that can be made at this time is that

they have promising possibilities under certain spe-

cific reservoir conditions. No method is known that

can be applied with an equal measure of success in

all reservoirs.

The oil resources of each of the five regional

subdivisions are considered in the same sequence

as their resources are listed in the tables at the

end of this report.

Western Hemisphere

Notwithstanding recent discoveries of enormousoil fields in other regions, the production of oil and

the proven reserves of the Western Hemisphere, as

shown in Table No. II and in Figure No. 2, continue

to be of major importance.

During 1961 the fields of the Western Hemisphere

produced slightly over one-half of the total world

production and at the end of 1961 they had produced

69.5 per cent of cumulative world production. This

impressive record is due to the fact that many of

the fields of the Western Hemisphere were dis-

covered at an early date and are more nearly de-

pleted than is the case in other regions. The Western

Hemisphere is the only world region which has

produced more oil through 1961 than its remaining

primary reserves in that year.

From Figure No.2 it will be seen that in the

Western Hemisphere, the United States and Vene-

zuela are the most important oil countries. The

Venezuela

Canada

Argentina

Mexico

Colombia

Tr inidad

Peru

Braz i l

Chi le

Others

, YIL RESOURCES OF THE

WESTERN HEMISPHEREas o f January 1,1962

(Estimated original o11 n place)

I I I I I IO 50 1 0 150 200 250 300 350

109 ( 42 -ga l lon barrels) -ola u w

JOUBNALI

Figure 2

87



Dominion of Canada, Argentina and Mexico have

significant reserves, much of which has been found

in post World War II years. The Republic of CO-

lombia, also, has important reserves of recent dis-

covery.

It will be noted that fluid injection operations in

Western Hemisphere countries are of notable im-

portance, this being due to the fact that, generally

speaking, Western Hemisphere countries are pro-

ducing their known reserves at a faster rate than

any of the other World regions. Notwithstanding the

widespread utilization of methods to improve oil

recovery in Western Hemisphere countries, the

average recovery efficiency from its oil fields is

poorer than in any other World region. This is due

to the fact that a great deal of oil from Western

Hemisphere countries was produced without any

restrictions and with poor utilization of the natu ral

energy existing originally in their reservoirs.

to be commercially recoverable by mining metho

providing the sands have a reasonable thickn

and the overburden is not excessive.

The oil sands have been studied by many geo

gists and petroleum engineers and reserves ha

been estimated in the range of from 100 to

billion barrels. It is believed that 100 billion barris a fairly realistic figure for provable reserves.

The reserves in the Athabasca oil sands ha

not been included in the reserves assigned to

Dominion of Canada but it is believed that th

will have significant importance in the future. T

recovery of sulphur from the oil might serve as

incentive for chemical companies, which requ

sulphur as a basic material for many processes

establish their operations in Canada. The heavy

sands, in addition to being a tremendous poten

source of hydrocarbon fuels might, also, serve

promote other large industrial expansion in nada.

The Dominion of Canada

The United States of America

Details about the oil resources of the Dominion

of Canada ar e given in Appendix One to Table

No. II to show what can be done and is being done

in a country where much new oil has been found

and continues to be found in recent years as a re-

sult of the favorable att itude of the government to

the oil industry. It is notable that about one quarter

of Canada's present ieserves will be produced a$ a

Mention has already been made of studies

United States Oil Resources for the Interstate

Compact Commission.' Since these studies h

revealed the great importance of fluid inject

operations t o the production of oil and to oil

serves in the United States a part of the informat

incluäëd' in %e Piffi Biennial Report to the Co

result of fluid injection operations, and it may be . pact1k eprodwed in Appendix Two of Table No

expected that this percentage will increase in the

future when Canada may not have a large excess

of primary producing capacity as it does at the pre-

sent time. It should also be noted that the largest

single oil reserve known in the world exists in Ca-

nada. This is the Athabasca oil sands for which some

commercial development is expected in the near

future.

The Athabasca oil sands are kn'own to have a

variable degree of "oil" impregriatiboii ver an area

of some 20,000 square miles and with an average

thickness of 100 feet. They outcrop along the Atha-basca River in the northern part of the Province of

Alberta. To the south and west they are buried to

depths exceeding 1,000 feet.

The bitumen in its natural state has a gravity

of 7.0' API and a sulphur content of 4.5 per cent.

Bitumen contents of over 10 per cent a re considered

The table in Appendix-Two shows that the recov

able oil reserves of the United States as a result

the development and+ operation of conventio

gas and water injec tion, methods a re 47.7 bill

barrels rather than the proved primary reser

of some 31.4 billion ba rrds . This represents an

crease in the recoverable reserves of around 50

cent.

This same Fifth BienniaI Report shows that th

aie some 40.2 billion barrels of oil in the Un

States that might be recovered by some of the ot

recovery methods, which have been referredpreviously. It is recognized that much remains

be learned about these newer recovery metho

but it is believed that under favorable reserv

conditions their application may result in the p

duction of a substantial part of the total conten

oil reservoirs.

88 v



F ed . R ep . o f

Germany

Y u g o s l a v i a

Met ropo l i t an

F r a n c e

Others

III

kN I O N O F S O V I E T S O C I A L I S T R EP UB LI CS

0

RESOURCES OF EUROPE

AND THE SOVIET UNIONAs of Janua ry 1, 1962

(Est imated original oi l in place)I I I I I I I I I

1 0 2 0 30 40 5 0 6 0 70 8 0 90

lo9 (42 -ga l l on ba r re l s ) *OIL AND 6

JOURNAL

Figure 3



Europe and the Soviet Union The Sahara

Africa

Because of the recent discovery of most of Afri-

ca's important oil fields, except for the fields of theUnited Arab Republic, there is not sufficient pro-

duction experience to evaluate properly this con-

tinent's oil resources. All information that could be

developed, however, is given in Table No.IV and

is shown in Figure No. 4.

Just not enough information is yet available about

most of the oil fields of Africa to enable much

more than a preliminary prediction about the effi-

ciency of the recovery that will be obtained from

them. For instance, the first commercial oil produc-

tion was found in the Sahara in 1956, with substan-

tial production commencing n 1960; n Libya oil fields

that were found in 1959 first came in to production

in 1961.

Similar to the experience in other regions, it may

be expected that the recoverable reserves from the

oil fields of Africa will be increased substantially

in future years.

Information about the oil resources of Europe and

the Soviet Union is presented in Table No. 111 and

is shown in Figure No.3. It is regretted that it is

not possible to separate production and reserve

statistics for the Soviet Union for European Russiaand for Asiatic Russia, including the island of Sakha-

lin.

As can be seen in Figure No. 3, the Soviet Union

is by far the most important oil country in this

region followed by Rumania. In both of these coun-

tries oil has been produced in commercial quantities

for many years. Much new oil has been found in

the Soviet Union in Post World War II years where-

as, during the same period, little new oil has been

discovered in Rumania. Much of the remainder of

Europe's production and reserves a re of fairly recent

discovery such as in Metropolitan France, the Fed-eral Republic of Germany, and Sicily. As shown

in Column 10 of Table No. III, oil recovery in these

nations is going to be quite efficient from their re-

cently discovered fields for they are being developed

and operated with the benefit of the best modern

technological knowledge.

Appendix Three of Table No. IV is given to ~

how rapidly oil production has increased in the S

hara from a negligible amount in 1959 to 121 m

lion barrels in 1961. The development of large

Production in the Sahara has been with amazirapidity.

Middle East

The Middle East, with almost two-thirds of t

world's recoverable oil reserves, is the most i

portant oil region. The figures in Table No. V, whi

are illustrated in Figure No. 5 demonstrate this fa

most impressively.

Not only is the Middle East the most importa

oil region at the present time, but, also, it is like

to continue to maintain this position in the foreseable future. Tremendous new reserves continue

be found particularly in offshore areas and t

potential producing capaci ty of many of the fie

is high. Almost 800 billion of barrels of oil have be

found in Middle Eastern countries and it would n

be unreasonable to predict that at least 1 trilli

barrels have been discovered and will be discover

in the future in this region.

Much of the development in the fields of t

Middle East has been on a wide well spacing pa

tern, and they are being operated in an efficie

manner which will insure the maximum economrecovery. Because of present sparse well densi

many of the estimations of reserves are believ

to be conservative. For instance, officials of t

government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia esti

ate that the recoverable oil from its fields w

amount to about 86.5 billion barrels, whereas prov

developed reserves as of Janua ry 1, 1962 are co

sidered to be only a l ittle over half this figure.

Scientific development along with favorable

servoir conditions are responsible for the high d

gree of recovery efficiency which will be attain

from many Middle Eastern oil fields.

Asia, Australia and Oceania

The development and operation of oil fields

parts of Asia, and parts of Oceania have be

90 VI1



L i b y a

U n i t e d A r a b

R e p u b l i c

I2

N i g e r i a

Gabon

O th e r s

O

Sahara

Oll RESOURCES OF AFRICAA s o f Ja n u a r y 1 , 1962

(Estimated or iginal o i l in place)

4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30

*L A I D

l o 9 (42- a l l o n b a r r e ls ) JOURNA

Figure 4



Saud i Ar ab ia

I ran

K u w a i t

I r aq

N e u t r a l Z o n e

T r u c i a l C o a s t

O11 RESOURCES OF THEMIDDLE EAST *- -

Qat ar

Syr ia

Bahr a in

I

I R A N

-=A s o f Januar y 1 , 19E2

(Est imated or ig inai o i l i n piace)

I I I I I I I I I I I I IOt her s

O 2 0 40 60 8 0 100 1 2 0 14 0 160 180 200 22 0 240 260 280 300

*L .m SAS

JOURNAL09 ( 42- ga i ion bar r e is )

1

Figure 5

B r i t i s h B o r n e o

C h ina andMongo l ia

AUSTRALIA AND OCEANIAurma

S a k h l i n

O t her s

I I I I l I Q 12 2

I l I I

A s o f Januar y 1, 1962

(Est imated or ig inai o i l in piace)

O 2 4 6 8 10 1 2 14 16 18 20

**IL a .AS

JOURNAIo 9 ( 42 - ga l lon bar r e ls )IFigure 6

92



adversely affected by war and in some countries

by unstable political conditions. Australia only has

one field of unknown size which was discovered in

1961. Thus, the oil resources of the Far East, as this

region is frequently referred to, as listed in Table

No.VI and as shown in Figure No.6, in all pro-

bability do not reflect the true producing possibilitiesof this region. Many of the fields have produced

over a long period of t ime; others, such as in Aus-

tralia and in the Philippines, are of v ery recent

discovery.

Oil recovery efficiency, particularly in British

Borneo and Indonesia is high, because of favorable

reservoir conditions. Indonesia is, by far, the most

important oil country.

Large parts of the region have been explored to

only a limited extent and it is believed that un-

discovered reserves of substantial magnitude remain

to be found. Inaccessibility, limited local markets,

and uncertain political conditions have been a de-

terring factor for oil field development in much of

Asia and Oceania in Post World War II years.

Wor ld

M i d d l e E a s t

Review of World Oil Resources

I

Table No. VI1 and Figure No. 7 are consolidations

of the information presented in the five preceding

tables and the five preceding figures. The enormous

oil resources of the Middle East in comparison

with the rest of the World are impressively evident

from this table and this figure.

Growth of World Oil Resources

Since World War II, as shown in Table No.VIII

and Figure No.8, World primary oil reserves have

increased in phenomenal manner from 50,684 million

barrels to 297,050 million barrels in 1961.This growth

has been a t an average annual rate of slightly over

13.5 billion barrels per year. This great increase

in reserves was accomplished notwithstanding the

fact tha t some 87.5 billion barrels were produced

from 1944 through 1961, a period of eighteen years.

The average annual increase in primary reserves

was, during this period, some 5.5 billion barrels

greater than the 1961 production of a lit tle over

8 billion barrels.

How much longer oil discovery rates will keep

ahead of production and consumption seems to be

more nearly an economic problem than one of oil

finding ability. Predictions have been made that by

1970 World consumption will amount to around 11.7

billion barrels. If this should be the case, the aver-

age annual increase in primary reserves in Post

World War II years is completely adequate to take

care of t he World's need for liquid hydrocarbons in

the immediate future.

-4----. .

A- ?il?ii, ?i\

-f!!\m!W4i!lrnL 'F

WORLD OIL RESOURCESWWAl!!l!!mr--Laii.imwwA s o f J a n u a ry 1, 1962

(Est imated or ig ina l o i l i n p lace) - - -w- -I t I I I I I I I I 1 I I I

200 4 0 0 60 0 8 O0 1,000 1, 200 1,400 1,600

Europe andS o v i e t U n i o n

A f r i c a

A s i a , A u s t r a l i a ,and Oc ean ia

O

. ."UJOURNAL

O9 (42 -ga l lon ba r re ls )

Figure 7

VI1119 93



GROWTH OF WORLDCRUDE-011RESERVES

300 -I O 9 ( 42-ga l lon bar re ls )

2 6 0 -

24 0 -

2 2 0 -

20 0 -

1 8 0-

1 6 0 -

1 4 0 -

1 2 0 -

1 0 0 -

8 0 -

6 0 -

40-20 -

2 8 0 -

A f r ica

A s i a , A u s t r a l i a ,and Ocean ia

Europe an dS o v i e t U n i o n

0 est Hem-.... ..\... ... ............. ¡sphere

M i d d l e E a 5 t

1959 1961.,,.... 1944 1949 1954IOURNAL

Figure 8

In addition to the primary reserves, this study

has shown that the World has secondary reserves

in amount of almost 134 billion barrels of crude oil

so that total recoverable reserves by known and

proved methods are around 431 billion barrels. This

is over three times all of the oil produced since the

beginning of commercial production. In fact, the

secondary reserves, that is the additional oil whi

can be obtained by the application of convention

gas andfor water injection into oil reservoirs,

slightly greater than the total past production.

These imposing figures give no consideration

possible additional oil that may be obtained by th

application of some of the more recent recoveprocesses. If, for instance, the additional recove

factor that has been suggested for United Stat

fields1 is applied, the recoverable oil reserves

the World could be something like 861 billion ba

rels. Large as this figure is, it is only about one-ha

of t he oil known to have existed originally in d

covered reservoirs.

Although the ability of the oil industry to fi

new reserves is demonstrated by past explorati

experience, it will be obvious that the time will

reached eventually when the consumption rate w

equal the discovery rate. When this time arrives,

is encouraging to recognize that improvements

oil recovery technology are capable of supplyi

the world's need for crude oil for many years

come.

It is almost futile to speculate as to the amou

of oil that will be needed decades in the futu

That is a problem for economists rather than en

neers. The facts are, however, that at the 1970 pr

jected consumption rate the known recoverable r

serves represent approximately a 36 year supply.

Those who have had an opportunity to follow t

operations of the oil industry know how grossly

oil-finding and oil-producing abilities have beunderestimated in preceding years. Thus, it is w

considerable hesitancy that the availability of

fixed number of years of crude oil supply has be

mentioned. The purpose for citing such figures h

been to provide assurance of an adequacy of supp

for several decades to come. Beyond this point

is believed tha t reliance can be placed on the abil

and ingenuity of scientists and engineers to produ

more of tha t which has already been found.

Acknowledgement

Recognition has been given in each of the oil resour

tables to the source of the information th at has been u

in its preparation. The assistance rendered by the resp

tive national authorities and the interest which they ha

manifested in this study is recognized with much app

94 V



ciation. Individual acknowledgement is not possible other

than the recognition given in the respective tables, but it

will be evident that this study of World Oil Resources

would not have been possible without the active coopera-

tion which has been received.

Officials of two international oil companies have review-

ed and commented on various parts of this paper. Theyhave requested that their assistance should not be identi-

field. As these persons may read this report, they will

understand that their desire for anonymity has been re-

spected. They, alone, will know how constructive and

helpful their comments have been.

Mr. Paul Swain, International Editor of the Oil and Gas

Journal, has been most helpful in advising about sources

of information on foreign oil fields, and he has helped

generously in supplying information from his personal

knowledge and from his extensive files.

The drawings were prepared by staff artists of the Oil and

Gas Journal.

References

(1) Paul D. orrey, Evaluation of United States Oil Re-

sources as of January 1, 1962, The Interstate Oil

Compact Committee Bulletin, Volume IV, No. 1,June 1,

1962, Pages 12-25.

Authors’ Biographies

Torrey, Paul O. I U.S.A. I etroleum Engineer, Petroleum Geologist IBS (Petroleum Geology), Petroleu m Engineer, Univer sity of Pittsburgh:

ScD (Petroleum Engineering), Marietta C ollege / Independent Oil Pro-ducer; formerly Distinguished Lecturer in petroleum engineering, Uni-

versity of Texas.

Weber, George H. / U.S.A. / Petroleum Engineer, Editor / BS, University

of Oklahoma / Editor, Oil and Gas Journal.

Moore, C. L. / U.S.A. / Foreign Production Spe cialist / Office of Oil andGas, Un ited States Departmen t of the Inte rior, Washington, D.C.

v11119 95



TABLE No. 1World Oil Production from Principal Producing Regions from 1857 to 1961 Inclusive

All figures in thousands of barrels of 42 U. S . Gallons

~

010

Western Middle Asia and Total Produced b

Year Hemisphere Africa Europe( l ) East (z) Oceania World United Sta

1857

1858

1859

1860

1861

1862

1863

1864

1865

18661867

1868

1869

1870

1871

1872

1873

1874

1875

1876

1877

18781879

1880

1881

1882

1883

1884

1885

1886

1887

1888

1889

1890

1891

1892

1893

1894

1895

96

2

500

2,114

3,069

2,694

2,206

2,608

3,773

3.537

3,846

4,435

5,511

5,475

6,601

10,259

11,096

12,183

9,445

13,662

15,70920,489

26,636

27,936

30,786

23,700

24,648

22,109

28,649

28,809

28,307

35,869

46,619

55,048

51,295

49,229

50,173

53,618

2

4

5

8

17

23

69

98

10 8

126

172

144

261

288

255

276

57 9

837

96 4

1,599

2,082

2,6903,089

3,356

4,040

5,064

6,535

11,473

14,626

18,566

18,969

23,821

25,491

29,844

35,809

37,133

41,804

37,976

48,316

5

7

10

1823

26

17

15

20

28

3 0

38

29

37

147

17 0

243

311

1,005

1,188

1,758

2

4

7

50 8

2,131

3,092

2,763

2,304

2,716

3,899

3,709

3,990

4,696

5,799

5,730

6,877

10,838

11,933

13,152

11,051

15,754

18,41723,601

30,018

31,993

35,865

30,255

35,969

36,765

47,243

47,807

52,165

61,507

76,633

91,100

88,739

92,038

89,337

103,692

28.6

98.4

99.2

98.9

94.5

91 a

92.0

92.3

90.2

9,1,4

89.8

90.7

90.8

91.5

91.3

91.6

91 o

82.6

84.7

83.684.4

87.6

86.5

85.1

77.5

67.3

59.5

59.4

59.2

52.9

57.2

59.8

59.6

56.9

52.6

55.2

51.O

V



TABLE No. II

Oil Resources of the Western Hemisphere as of January 1, 1962

(All Production and Reserve Figures in Millions of Barrels of 42 U. S. Gallons)

Continent

or RegionCountry

North America Dominion of Canada 25.466 1,703 221 4,358 1,421 5,779 5.3 1.9 3.8 29.4 7.428

United States of America 346,195 67,657 2,511 31,399 16,332 47,731 60.4 74.1 5.3 33.3 7.418

Mexico 18,945 3,481 107 2,455 660 3,115 2.6 3.8 3.4 34.8 7.104

Total fo r North America 390,606 72,841 2,839 38,212 18,413 56,625 68.3 79.8 5.0 33.1

West Indies Cuba 39 5 (1 2 2 ('1 6.632

Trinidad 6,000 756 46 402 10 412 1.1 0.8 11.2 19.3 6.900

Total for West Indies 6,039 761 46 404 10 414 1.1 0.8 11,2 19.4

South America Argentina

Bolivia (z)

Brazil

Chile

Colombia

EcuadorPeru

Venezuela

Tota l for South America

25,240

126

2.345

1,000

8,272

6345,365

170.965

213,947

885

32

128

44

1,002

83598

14,931

17,703

84

3

35

9

54

319

1,066

1,273

4,163

50

27 8

15 0

80 0

30360

15,096

20,927

833 4,996

12 62

43 2 710

75 225

225 1,025

12 4244 404

5,600 20,696

7,233 28,160

2.0 1.0 1.7 23.3

0.1 (3) 4.8 (z)

0.8 0.1 4.9 35.7

0.2 (s) 4.0 26.9

1.3 1.1 5.3 24.5

0.1 0.1 7.1 19.70.5 O.? 4.7 18.7

25.6 16.4 5.1 20.8

30.6 19.4 4.5 21.4

7.021

7.205

7.315

7.735

7.023

7.6517.512

6.974

Total for Western

Hemisphere 610,592 91,305 4,158 59,543 25,656 85,199 4.9 28.9

(') Information on the de teriorat ing oil industry of Cuba

is difficult to obtain and is uncertain. 1961 oil produc-

tion is estimated to have been only 73,000 barrels.

Secondary reserves are probably insignificant.

(?) Figures on Bolivia are incomplete because reserves

have not been established for the recently discovered

Caranda , Collpa, and Rio Grande fields. The estimation

of the original oil content of Bolivian reservoir s (Co-

lumn l),obviously, is too low.

(3) Less than one per cent.

VI IV 9 99



TABLE No. II Continued

Oil Resources of th e Western Hemisphere

Count ry Source of Information

Mexico

Cuba

Trinidad

Dominion of

Canada

Provincial Officials as Listed in A ppendix

One, with Statistics Compiled by the

Author from these Sources.United States of Paul D. Tor rey , “Evalua tion of United

States Oil Resources as of J an ua ry 1,

1962.” The Intersta te Oil Compact

Committee Bulletin, Volume IV, No. 1,

June , 1962, Pages 12-25. See Append ix

Two for Information on Individual States.

Antonio Vargas Macdonald,

Coordinador, Relaciones Publicas,

Petróleos Mexicanos.

Compiled by the Author from

Available Information

O. O. Fernandes, Resident Engineer,

Petroleum Department, Government

of Trinidad

available from a confidential source

and believed t o be reliable.

Manager- Yacimientos Petroliferos.

Fiscales Bolivianos.

America

Argentina Compiled from information made

Bolivia Enrique Mariaca Bilbao, Gen eral

Country Source of Information

Brazil

Chile

Colombia

Ecuador

Peru

Venezuela

Affonso Cesario de Fario Alvim,

Superintendente Geral, Depto. de

Produção, Petr óleo Brasileiro, S. A.John L. Porter, Technical Advisor an

Fernando Salas Valdes, General

Manager, Empresa Nacional del

Petróleos.

Augustó Barrientos, Ingeniero Jefe,

División de Petróleos, Ministerio de

Minas y Petróleos, Republica de

Colombia.

Ing. Enrique Zevall os Salam e, Direct

General de Minas e Hidrocarburos,

Ministerio de Femento, Republica de

Ecuador.

Compiled from information made

available from a confidential source

and believed to be reliable.

Arturo Hernandes Grisanti, Director

General, Ministerio d e Minas e

Hidrocarburos, Republica de V enezu

1O0



Appendix No. One to Table No. II

Oil Resources of the Dominion of Canada as of January 1, 1962

(All figures in million of barre ls of 42 U. S. Gallons)

Province (1) (2) (3) (4 ) (5) Source of Information

New Brunswick

Ontario

Manitoba

Saskatchewan

Alberta

British Columbia

Northwest

Territories

Yukon Territory

Total

3.9 0.6 (l) 0.1 0.2

185.0 38.6 1.1 9.8 9.7

650.0 39.1 4.5 36.0 31.0

6,379.7 283.6 55.9 818.4 257 .2

17,000.0 1,330.0 157.8 3,193.0 1,019.0(*)

847.6 3.8 1.0 200.7 104.2

400 .0 7.7 O.? 100 .0 0

25,466.2 1,703.4 221.0 4,358.0 1,421.3

J. B. Hamilton, Geologist, Mines Branch, Depart-

ment of Lands and Mines and R. J. Kirker, Chief

Geologist, Western Decalta Petroleum Limited.

W. D. Brittain, Director, Drilling and Production

Branch, Department of Energy Resources.

M. J. Gobert, Senior Petroleum Engineer, Petro-

leum Engineering Division, Mines Branch, Depart-

ment of Mines and Natural Resources.

A. J. Williams, Acting Deputy Minister of Mineral

Resources.

N. A. Strom, Chief Oil Engineer, Oil and Gas Con-

servation Board.

W. E. Kiernan, Minister, Ministry of Mines and

Petroleum Resources.

B. H. J. Thoms, Oil Conservat ion Engineer, Depart-

ment of Northern Affairs and National Resources.

F o o t n o t e s :

( l ) Only 12,024 barrels.

(2) The Oil and Gas Conservation Board of Alberta es ti-

mates recoverable crude oil reserves of 3,510 millionbarrels of which 317 million barrels are specifically

designated as attributed to pressure maintenance inthe Joffre and Pembina fields. Primary oil reserves are

therefore: 3,510-317 = 3,193 million barrels. It is ecti-

mated that oil recovery can be increased at least

20 per cent by application 01 fluid injection methods,

so Column (5) has been estimated as: 3,510 X .2=702 + 31 7 = 1,019 million barrels.

(1 o i l recovery in the one field is reported to be con-trolled by strong water drive which may make the

application of fluid injection methods unnecessary.

(4) No significant reserves can be attributed at the pre-

sent time to the single oil discovery in the Yukon.

Vl l l . 9 101



Appendix Two of Table No. II

Evaluation of United States Oil Resources as of January 1, 1962

(All figures in millions of barrels of 42 U.S. Gallons)

New York

Pennsylvania

West Virginia

Kentucky

Ohio

Indiana

Illinois

Midigan

North Dakota

South Dakota

Nebraska

Kansas

Oklahoma

Arkansas

Alabama

Mississippi

Louisiana (*)

Texas (*)

New Mexico

Colorado

Wyoming

Montana

Utah

California (*)

Alaska

Other States (s)

Total

855

3,831

2,610

1,473

4,692

3,080

7,471

1,822

3,000

2

1,603

16,150

49,715

5,666

358

3,425

27,346

117,700

11,048

3,266

11,482

2,853

1,797

64,012

776

162

208

1,236

467

437

672

328

2,307

461

126

1

166

3,421

8,396

1,135

45

74

5,571

24,701

1,614

645

2,063

394

152

12,353

7

10

2 O

6 7

3 38

18 138

6 75

1 1 45

77 302

19 97

24 448

24 59

112 820

188 1,420

28 235

7 106

53 450

365 5,187

898 15,518

110 990

47 164

143 969

31 216

33 170

299 3,650

6 250

1 44

(1 1

20

77

13

55

5

50

765

129

147

O

119

110

1,331

158

1O0

190

4,416

4,954

936

613

626

118

276

1,010

1O0

14

346,195 67,657 2,511 31,399 16,332

F o o t n o t e s :

(I ) 0.2 Million Barrels.

(*) Includes Offshore Reserves.

(3) Includes Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Nevada, Tennes-

see, Virginia, and Washington.

Cou ntry Source of Information

New York

Pennsylvania

West Virginia

Kentucky

Ohio

Indiana

Illinois

Michigan

North Dakota

South Dakota

Nebraska

Kansas

Oklahoma

Arthur M. Van Tyne, Geologist,New York State Geological Survey.

William S. Lytle, Assistant State

Geologist, Pennsylvania Geological

Survey.

A. J. W. Headlee, Geochemist and

Chairman, West Virginia Secondary

Committee.

Edmund Nosow, Geologist, Kentudcy

Geological Survey.

Jack Cashell, Presid ent, The Preston

Oil Company.

H. R. Brown, Director, Division of Oi

and Gas, Indiana Department of

Conservation.

Car1 W. Sherman, Head, Petroleum

Engineering Section, Illinois Geologi

Survey Div.

Gordan H. Hautau, Petroleum

Geologist-Engineer, Geological Surve

Division, Michigan Department of

Conservation.

Daniel S. Boone, Petroleum Engineer

Amerada Petroleum Corporation with

the cooperation of Clarence B. Folso

Jr., North Dakota Geological Survey

Allen F.Agnew ,State Geologist,

South Dakota Geological Survey.

H.N. Rhodes, Director, Nebraska Oil

and Gas Conservation Commission.

Albert E. Sweeney, Jr., Office of Oiland Gas, United States Department

of the Interior.

F.H.Rhees, Vice President and

W. J. Rogers, Sinclair Oil and Gas

Company.

102 VI1



Coun try Source of Information

Arkansas

Alabama

Mississippi

Louisiana

Texas

New Mexico

Colorado

Wyoming

Montana

Utah

California

Alaska

Other States

Paul D. Torrey, Petroleum Engineer

H. Gene White, Petroleum Engineer,

State Oil and Gas Board of Alabama.

James F.Borthwidc, Jr., Chief Engineer,

Mississippi S tate Oil and Gas Board.

A. Fred Peterson, Jr., Petroleum

Engineer, Louisiana Department of

Conservation.

Paul D. Torrey, Petroleum Engineer.

Daniel S . Nutter, Chief Engineer,New Mexico Oil Conservation

Commission.

A. J. Jersin, Director, Colorado Oil

and Gas Conservation Commission.

J. Howard Barnett, Petroleum

Consultant and Chairman, Wyoming

Secondary Recovery Committee.

James F. Neely, Executive Secretary,

Oil and Gas Conservation Commission

of Montana.

Robert L. Schmidt, Chief Petroleum

Engineer, Utah Oil and Gas Conservation

Commission.

G. B. Shea, Chief, San Francisco

Petroleum Research Laboratory,

U. S. Bureau of Mines.

Donald D.Bruce, Chief, Petroleum

Branch, Division of Mines and Minerals

of Alaska.

Paul D. Torrey, Petroleum Engineer.

103



TABLE No. III

Oil Resources of Europe and the Soviet Union as of January 1, 1962

(All Production and Reserv e Figures in Millions of Barrels of 42 U. S. Gallons)

Country

Albania

Austria

Bulgaria

Czechoslovakia

Metropolitan France

Federal Republic of Germany

(West Germany)

German Democratic Republic

(East Germany) (*)

Hungary

Italy

Netherlands

Poland

Rumania

Sicily

United Kingdom

Yugoslavia

Total Europe

Europe and Asia

USSR (4)

Total Europe an d Soviet Union

F o o t n o t e s :

1,000 (1 40 6

1,340 298 16

10 4 11 1

10 4 15 1

690 109 16

2,595 386 44

3 2

999

102

944

995

9,900

932

73

92 2

2 1

130 10

9 2

133 14

175 (3) 2

2,070 87

58 13

11 1

40 10

80

213

16

10

200

486

6

140

20

25 0

24

900

416

8

19 1

(l) The large figure for original oil in place includes

shallow, heavy black oil in the old Drasciovitza- Germany is uncer tain and unreliable.

Penkova, Selenitza, and Greshitza fields. The wells in

these fields are repo rted to be aban,doned, but asphalt

is being mined from the of the producing for-

mations.

(2) Information on the insignificant oil industry of

(3 1 The Pre-World War II cumulative production of

tain Polish fields, that were lost to Russia, of s

12 0 million barrels is now included in the cumulaproduction of the Soviet Union.

(4) Includes Sakhalin and all other USSR regions in A

20.732 3,487 224 2,960

88,036 14,006 1,227 24,525

8

15

3

2

75

271

35

2

25

4

45

O

1

47

533

8,112

88 0.41 0.23 6.8 12.8 6.

228 1.10 1.71 7.0' 39.2 6.

19 0.07 0.06 5.3 28.8 7.

12 0.07 0.09 8.3 25.9 6.

275 1.10 0.62 5.8 55.6 6.

757 3.03 2.21 5.8 44.0 7.

6

17 5

22

275

28

94 5

416

9

23 8

3.493

0.07

0.69

0.14

0.96

0.141

6.00

0.90

0.07

0.69

15.44

0.01

0.74

0.05

0.76

1 o0

11.83

0.33

0.06

0.23

19.92-16.6 25.0

5.7 30.5

9.1 30.4

5.1 43.2

7.1 20.4

9.2 30.4

3.1 50.8

11.1 27.4

4.2 30.1

6.4 33.7

7.

7.

6.

6.

7.

7.

6.

7.

7.

32,63 7 84.56 80.07 3.7 53.0 7.

108,768 17,493 1,451 27,485 8,645 36,13 0 4.0 49.3

104 V



TABLE No. III (Continued)

Oil Resources of Europe and the Soviet Union as of January 1, 1962

(All Produc tion and Reserve Figures in Mill ions of Barrels of 42 U.S. Gallons)

Coun try Source of Inform ation

Albania

Austria

Bulgaria

Czechoslovakia

Metropolitan

France

Federa l Republic

of Germany

(West Germany)

C. L. Moore, Foreign ProductionSpecialist, Office of Oil and G as,

United State s Depar tment of the

Interior.

R. Grill, Chief Geologist,

Geologische Bundesanstalt.

C. L. Moore, Foreign Production

Specialist, Office of Oil and Gas,

United States Depar tment of the

Interior.


Specialist, Office of Oil and Gas,

United State s Depar tment of the

Interior.Maurice Allegre, Ingenieur des

Mines, Service Recherche et

Production, Direction des Carburant;,

Ministère de L'Industrie, République

Française and "Activities of th e

French Oil Industry", 1961 Bulletin

Annuel No. 2, Direction des

Carburants.

W. Sdiott, Bundesanstalt für

Bodenforschung and W. Riihl,

Deutsche Erdöl-Aktiengesellschaft

German Democratic C. L. Moore, Foreign Production

Republic Specialist, Office of Oil and Gas,(East Germany) United Stat es Depar tment of the

Interior.

Cou ntry Source of Information

Hungary

Italy

Netherlands

Poland

Rumania

Sicily

United Kingdom

Yugoslavia

USSR

C. L. Moore, Foreign ProductionSpecialist, Office of Oil and Gas,

United States Department of t he

Interior.

Compiled by the author from

available United States publications.




Specialist, Office of O il and Ga s,

United States Departme nt of t he

Interior.


Specialist, Office of O il and Gas,

United States Depar tmen t of the

Interior.

Felice Scelsi, Corpo Delle Miniere,

Servizio Idrocarburi.

Charles B. Towill, BP (North

America) Ltd.




Specialist, Office of O il and Gas,

United States Department of t he

Interior.

VI IV 9 105



TABLE No. IV

Oil Resources of Africa a s of January 1, 1962

(All Production and Reserve Figures in Millions of Barrels of 42 U.S . Gallons)

Country

AlgeriaAngola

Congo Republic

Gabon

Libya

Morocco

Nigeria

Sahara

Senegal

United Arab Republic (Egypt)

(Includes Offshore)

Total for Africa

17164

60

510

19,831

84

1,676

29,400

4,162

55,904

(I )

39

9

63

4,500

13

390

4,200

59?

(910

2

15

1,000

(797

1,450 (E)

60(7

$3249 .32

11 .16

78 3.3 3.56

5,500 (s) 3.9 1.13

13 1.29

487 9.4 4.60

5,650 67.7 32.04

657 14.4 56.47

1.3(s) .ll618 180(8)

F o o t n o t e s :

(I ) Only 60,100 barrels in 1961; cumulative production

2.3 million barrels; primary reserves not more than

0.5 million barrels; secondary reserves are negligible.

(*) 0.8 million barrels in 1961.

(7 This is a minimum figure based on limited information.

(4) 0.6 million barrels in 1961.

(5 ) Unknown, but probably of small size.

(E) This figure is considered to be optimistic by French

authorities. However, considering the results obtained

in the Western Hemisphere it is not considered to be

unrealistic assuming continued application of effec-

tive pressure maintenance in the Hassi Messaoud

Field.

(3 The small Diam Niade Field has only 1 oil well and

3 gas wells. Cumulative production has been 0.03 mil-

lion barrels. 1961 production was 16,800 barrels. The

original oil in place is probably not more than 0.5 mil-

lion barrels. The proved reserves are small and prob-

ably are not over 0.1 million barrels; secondary

reserves are negligible.

2 million barre ls of miscellaneous oil from Algeria,

Angola, Congo Republic, Morocco, and Senegal are

includet in the total figure.

9,811 2,634 12,445

1.6 31.1

7.3 20.0

7.7 19.6

0.1 27.7

4.6 25.0

3.5 30.8

2.2 19.9

4.0 24.2

1.4 23.4

7.66.8

6.7

6.7

7.5

7.5

7.2

7.6

7.6

Oil Resources of Africa as of January i , 1962

(All Production and Reserve Figures in Millions of Barre

of 42 U.S. Gallons)

Country

Algeria

Angola

Congo Republic

Gabon

Libya

Morocco

Source of Information

"Activi ties of the French Oil Industr

1961", Direction des Carburants,

Ministè re de L'Industrie, République

Française, combined with information

from available United States

publications.

Antóine A. de C. da Silva Pinto, Eng.

de Minas, Direcção Provincial DosServiços de Geologia E Minas,

Provincia de Angola.

Maurice Allegre, Ingenieur des Mine

Service Recherche et Production,

Direction des Carburants, Ministèce d

L'Industrie, République Française and

"Activi ties of t he French Oil Industr

1961", Bulletin Annual No. 2, Directio

des Carburants.

Maurice Allegre, Ingenieur des Mine


Direction des Carburants, Ministèrse d


"Activities of the French Oil Industry1961", Bulletin Annuel No. 2, Direction

des Carburants.

Compiled by the author from availabl

United States publications.

Compiled by the author from availabl


106 VI11



TABLE No. IV (Continued)

Oil Resources of Africa as of Ja nua ry 1, 1962

(All Production and Reserve Figures in Millions of Barrels

of 42 U. S.Gallons)


Nigeria

Sahara

Compiled by the author from available


Maurice Allegre, Ingenieur des Mines,


Direction des Carburants , Minist6re d e


"Activities of the French Oil Industry,

1961", Bulletin Annuel No. 2, Direction

des Carburants, See Appendix Three

for details of 1961 oil production.

Maurice Allegre, Ingenieur des Mines,


Direction des Carburants, Ministère de


"Activities of the French Oil Industry,

1961", Bulletin Annuel No. 2, Direction

des Carburants.

M. S.Amin, Exploration and Production

Republic Manager, The Egyptian General

Petroleum Corporation.

United Arab

Sene ga1

Appendix Three, Table No. 1V

Production of Oil in Sahara in 1961

(All Figures in Millions of Barrels

of 42 U. S. Gallons)

Field Barrels

Hassi Messaoud

E l Gassi-El Agreb (l)

Ohanet (l)

Edjeleh

Zarzaitine

El Adeb Larache(2)

Tiguentourine (2)

Tin Fouye (3

Total

64,122,600

3,668,500

2,245,300

10,841,300

40,318,300

41,500

47,500

76,600

121,361,600

(I) Production from these fields started in 1961.

(*) All wells are shut in.

Information obtained from "Activities of the French Oil

Industry, Year 1961", Bulletin Annuel No. 2, Direction

des Carburants, Ministère de L'Industrie, République

Francaise.

,

1o3



TABLE No. V

Oil Resources of the Middle East as of January 1, 1962

(All Production and Re serve Figure s in Millions of Barrels of 42 U. S.Gallons)

BahrainIran (Includes Offshore)

Iraq

Israel

Kuwait

Kuwait-Saudi Arab ia

Neut ral Zone (Include Offshore)

Qatar

Saudi Arabia (Includes Offshore)

Syria

Trucial C oast (Includes Offshore)

Turkey

Total Middle East

2,235 26 3200,568 4,584

98,643 3,093

63 4

149,837 4,848

23,800 231

14,383 51 9

281,840 4,765

4,256 O

17,600 O

524 15

16 245 98436 41,000 16,400

366 26,500 10,600

1 15 6

60 0 62,000 26,800

65 5,093 2,070

65 2,750 550

508 47,695 38,761

O 851 213

O 4,000 1,000

3 131 52

343 .78 1.44 4.66 27.1 6.757,400 21.16 25.01 .76 30.9 7.4

37,100 17.77 16.88 .99 40.7 7.45

2 1 .O5 .O2 4.76 39.7 7.2

88,800 29.13 26.45 .68 62.5 7.2

7,163 3.15 1.29 .91 31.1 6.9

3,300 3.15 2.83 1.97 26.6 7.6

86,456 24.66 26.00 5 9 32.4 7.3

1,064 O 25.0

5,000 O 28,4

183 .15 .O8 1.64 37.8 6.75~~ ~

793,749 18,328 2,060 190,280 96,550 286,830

TABLE No. V (Continued)

Oil Resources of the Middle East as of January 1 , 1962

(All Production and Reserve Figures in Millions of Barrels of 42 U. S . Gallons)


Iran

Iraq

Israel

Kuwait

Bahrain H. H. Arnold, Jr., Chairman of th e

Board, American Overseas

Petroleum, Ltd., supplemented

with information from the

Proceeding s of th e First Arab

Petroleum Congress.

G.R.

Nikpay, National Iranian OilCompany, supplemented with

information from Proceedings of

three Arab Petroleum Congresses

plus information from available

United State s publications.

Compiled from Proce edings of th ree

Arab Petroleum Congresses plus

information from available United

States publications.

S. Malki, Petroleum Engineer and

Technical Advisor, P etroleum Com-

missioner's Office, State of Israel.

M. K. Adasani, Technical Assistant,

General Oil Affairs Department,Ministry of Finance a nd Economy,

Gov ernme nt of Kuwait, supple-

mented b y information from

Proceedings of Three Arab Petro-

leum Congresses, plus information

.72 38.4

Coun try Source of Information

available from United States

publications.

Kuwait-Saudi Arabia Issam Kabbani, Deputy Director

Gene ral, Ministry of Petroleum an

Miner al Reso urces, Kingdom of

Saudi Arabia.

D.D. Hayter, Public Relations

Department, Iraq Petroleum

Company, Ltd., supplemented by

information from the Proceedings

of th e First Arab Petroleum

Congress.

Issam Kabb ani, Deputy Director

General, Ministry of Petroleum a

Miner al Resourc es, Kingdom of

Saudi Arabia.

M. EI Alem, Director General,

General Petroleum Authority,

Syrian Arab Republic.

Compiled from Proceedings of Fi

Arab Petroleum Congress plusinformation available from Unite


Kemal R. Aksal, President, Turki

Petroleum Administration, plus

information available from Unite


Neutral Zone

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Syria

Trucial Coast

Turkey

108 v11



_ _ _ _ _

TABLE No. VI

Oil Resources of Asia, Australia, and Oceania as of January 1, 1962

(All Produc tion and Reserve Figures in Millions of Bar rels of 42 U. S. Gallons)

Country (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10 ) (11)

Australia

British Borneo

Burma

China -tMongolia (3)

India (4)

Indonesia

JapanWestern New Guinea

Pakistan

Philippines

Taiwan

Thailand

Total

8 0 (*I 2 (9 2

2,630 631 31 684i 34 718

1,300 310 4 40 5 45

1,600 100 25 300 30 33 0

1,817 ?9 4 45 0 25 475

21,422 2,382 15 5 8,379 84 8,463

601 80 5 46 12 58128 27 1 5 1 6

22 0 32 2 25 5 30

3 0 (5)

9 2 (7 O

1 (1 (7) (1 O

29,739 3,643 2 27 9,931 196 10,127

13.66

1 76

11 o2

1 76

68.28

2.200.44

0.88

17.32

8.51

2.74

2.17

65.39

2.20.74

.88

.O5

TABLE No. VI (Continued)

Oil Resources of Asia, Australia, and Oceania as of January 1, 1962

(All Production and Reserve Figures in Millions of Barrels of 42 U.S. Gallons)


Australia

British Borneo

Burma

China-FMongolia 3)

India (4)

Indonesia

Estimated by the author from

information in the August 27, 1962

issue of The Oil and Gas Journal.

Based on information obtained

from Asiatic Petroleum Corpora-

tion (z) American Overseas Petro-

leum, Ltd. (2) , and Standardvacuum

Oil Company supplemented by

calculations of the author .

K. W. Bond, General Manager,

The Burma Oil Co. (1954), Ltd.


Specia list, Office of Oil and Gas,

United States Department of theInterior.

S. D. Bhambri, Deputy Secretary

to the Governm ent of India ,

Minis try of Mines and Fuel,

supplemented by information from

availabl e United States publications.

Based on information obtained

from Asiatic Petroleum Corpora-

tion (z), American Overseas Petro-

leum, Ltd. (2) and Standard Vacuum

F o o t n o t e s :

(I ) First commercial field discovered in 1961; no produc-

tion history.

(2) As reported in th e Bulletin of the American Associa-

tion of Petroleum Geologists, Volum e 46, No. ?, July,

(3) Information on China and Mongolia is uncertain and

of questionable accuracy.

(4) Information submitted on India's Oil Resources was:

Estimated original oil content of Oil India Limited's

reservoirs: 39.3922 million metric tons = 294 million

barrels; primary oil reserves of Oil India Limited and

Assam Oil Company: 48.6167 million metric tons =

1962, pp. 1281-1297.

4.3

8.9

7.6

.8

1.8

8.616.6

6.6

2.2

51.3

27.3

26.8

30.5

50.6

22.925.8

28.2

22.2

46.3

7.531

7.464

7.266

7.464

7.386

6.6797.468

7.506

7.610

Country Source of. Information

Oil Company (z), supplemented by

calculations of the auth or.

Japan Katsu Kaneko, Director, Geological

Survey of Ja pan , supplemented by

calculations of the author.

Western New Guinea Based on information obtained

from Standard Vacuum Oil Com-

pany (z), supplemented by calcu-

lations of the author.

Pakistan Ashig Ali, Deputy Direc tor,

Natural Resources Division, Mini-

stry of Industries an d Natural

Resources, Government of Pakistan,

supplemented by calculations

of the author.

Philippines Philippines Bureau of Mines.

Taiwan Chinese Petroleum Corporation

supplemented by information from


Thailand Developed from information in


36 3 million barrels; additional recovery from gas or

water injection of Assam Oil Company: 1 million

metric tons = 7.464 million barrels. Cumulative pro-

duction and 1961 production, also, were supplied.

( 5 ) One shallow field discovered in 1961; no production

history; total reserves, in all prohability, less than

1 million barrels.

(6) 1961 production = 16,632 barrels; proved reserves as

of 1/1/62 = 0.2 million barrels; secondary reserves

are negligible.

(1 Cumulative production to 1/1/62 = 187,850 barrels;

1961 production = 18,250 barrels; proved reserves =0.1 million barrels; secondary reserves are negligible.

v111/9 1o9



TABLE No. VI1

Summary of World Oil Resources as of January 1, 1962

(All Production and Reserve Figures in Millions of Barrels of 42 U. S . Gallons)-ontinent or Region (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (1

Western Hemisphere 610,592 91,305 4,158 59,543 25,656 85,199 51.5 69.5 4.9 2Europe and the Soviet Union 108,768 17,493 1,451 27,485 8,645 36,130 17.9 13.3 4.0 4

Africa 55,904 618 180 9,811 2,634 12,445 2.2 0.5 1.4 2

Middle East 793,749 18,328 2,060 190,280 96,550 286,830 25.5 13.9 .? 3

Asia, Australia, and Oceania 29,739 3,643 227 9,931 196 10,127 2.9 2.8 2.2 4

Total 1,598,752 131,383 8,076 297,050 133,681 430,731 1.9 35

Identification of Column Numbers

(1) Estimation of Original Oil Content of Reservoirs.

(2) Total Oil Production to 1/1/62.(3) 1961 Oil Production.

(4) Primary Oil Reserves.

(5) Additional Oil Reserves from Conventional Fluid In-

jection Operations.

(6) Combined Primary and Fluid Injection Reserves;

(Column4 + Column 5).

(7) Percent of 1961 World Production.

(8) Percent of Cumulative World Production.

(9) Percent of Combined Reserves Produced in 19

( Co*umn x 1O0 %) .Column 3

(10) Percent of Oil in Place that will be Recovered Ac-

cording to Present Expectations;

Column 2 + Column 6

Column 1x 100%).

TABLE No. VI11

Growth of World Crude Oil Reserves for Selected Years 1944-1961

(All Figures in Millions of Barrels of 42 U. S . Gallons)

Continent or Region 1944 (I) 1949 (l ) 1954 (I) 1959 (I) 1961

Western Hemisphere 27,550 34,663 44,077 56,379 59,5

Europe and the Soviet Union 6,365 4,879 10,181 28,642 27,4Africa 86 122 158 4,118 9,8Middle East 15,500 32,621 78,160 173,951 190,2Asia, Australia. and Oceania 1,183 1,317 2,583 10,147 9,9

Total 50,684 73,602 135,159 273,237 297,0

F o o t n o t e s :

(l ) From The Oil and Gas Journa l; "A History of the Pe-

(2)

From Column 4of

Table No. 7.

troleum Administration for War".

This paper was presented on June 22, 1963, by

P. D. TORREY.

110 VI



Discussion

A. R. MARTINEZ (OPEC, GenevdSwitzerland).

First of all I would like to commend Dr. Torrey and

his colleagues for the very good paper they have

presented. Such a compilation of data will be ex-

tremely useful to all' those interested in world oil

resources. It certainly took a lot of work to prepare,

although, when you reduce it all to a few lines of

numbers, you might not easily realize the hours

actually spent in its preparation.

Now, it seems to me that the usage of the term

"resources" might be inappropriate, since oil in place

is not resources. Recently those volumes of oil in

place have been termed "base stocks", from which

the actual resources would be estimated by means

of certain percentages. I do not think this procedure

is very rational.

A most important contribution to scientific know-

ledge by Dr. Torrey and his collaborators is the setof figures in column 1 of the tables. That is, the

estimation of the volumes of the original oil content

of the reservoirs. If these volumes were arrived at

through studies of the volumetric capacity of the oil

reservoirs, then the figure is all right, but I do not

think this is the case. I wonder, then, if the actua l

place in the tables indicates that these figures were

also the first calculated, or if they a re the estimates

made after the proved reserves and accumulated

production have been converted into in situ volumes.

Finally, I would like to say that it should always

be remembered that all estimates of oil resources a resubject to correction and revision in a continuous

manner. But there is no doubt that sudi studies are

very valuable, even though the results might not be

as exact and precise as some geoscientists would

like them to be.

P.D. TORREY replies. Dr. Martínez's comments on

the definition of the word "resources" causes me to

call attention to the difference that exists in the

interpreta tion of words, which, in a way, corresponds

with differences in the units with which oil is mea-

sured in various nations of the world. "Resources",

as they have been considered by my co-authors andby me, consist of items of na tura l wealth that ar e

susceptible to recovery. They do not, necessarily,

have to be available for recovery at the present time,

but they may be recoverable or developed in the

future, such as undeveloped hydroelectric resources.

We cannot predict with precision how much oil re-

covery efficiency will be improved in t h e future, but

the trend in recent years certainly indicates that con-

tinued improvement will take place. Thus, oil which

Dr. Martínez does not consider to be a "resource" at

this time, ve ry conceivably, might be a "resource" in

the next decades.

With regard to Dr. Martínez's comments about the

figures in Column 1 of the respective tables, I should

like to state that in most cases, particularly for the

large producing nations, they have been developed

independently of other reserve calculations and they

represent an evaluation of individual oil reservoir

data . In the case of a few nations, which did not

cooperate in our study, we were compelled to esti-

mate the original oil content of oil reservoirs by an

analysis of the production performance of various

fields.

D. C. ION (British Petroleum Company Ltd., Lon-

donlEngland). The authors and in turn their corre-

spondents are to be congratulated on amassing the

material presented and it is hoped that some vehicle

may be found for publication of the detailed infor-

mation not included in this paper.

We welcome the repetition of trust in the oil indu-

stry's resources and ability to find more oil.

The aspect of te rtiary reserves estimated by Dr.

Torrey for the U.S.A. is a commendable attempt to

put into figures what in most estimates is left vague.

However, any attempt at too rigid separation be-

tween primary and secondary and tertiary reserves

in most other countries than U.S.A. is fraught with

difficulty. The modem practice in some new fields

of entering into pressure maintenance or water flood

immediately after discovery blurs the distinction

between primary and secondary oil and again some

deposits, like those of the Athabasca Oil Sands, may

only be recoverable by what elsewhere would be

rightly termed "Tertiary" methods.

The figures given for oil in place in known reser-

voirs are most valuable. Outside the U.S.A. it would

seem that one must then jump to some estimate of

ultimate oil in place and then work back by apply-ing a recovery factor according to the type of reser-

voir in order to obtain the ultimate recoverable

figure, (i. e., oil produced by both proved and un-

proved methods) as indeed Mr. Martínez in his later

paper attempts to do for Venezuela.

111



I think that at this Congress it is important to con-

sid er the implications of Dr. Torr ey's attempt to

quantify possible future tertiary recovery.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

*

COMMENT ON "WORLD OIL RESOURCES"

by P.D. Torrev et al.

TABLE I - .S.A.

Billion Barrels a s of 1.1.62

Torrey King Hubbert*

Cumulativ e Production 67.6

Primary Reserves 31.4

Total Recoverable Oil 175

Primary Oil discovered 99 99

Primary Oil still to be discovered 76

Secondary and Tertiary Oil

associated with 4. above. 56.5 (56.5)

Ditto with item 5. above

on same proportion as item 6.

to item 4. (42.9)King Hubbert's Total Recoverable

amended by Torrey's allowance

for additional recovery. (274.4)

"Energy Resources ", National Ac ademy of S ciences,

Publication 1000-D, Was hington 1962

First, the U.S.A. Table I s hows that if Dr. King

Hubb ert's recent es tima te of 76 b. b. still to be found

is of oil similar to Dr. Torrey's primary r eserves, then

the Torrey allowances for secondary and tertiary

recovery would give a to tal of 275 b. b. of recover-

able oil for the U.S.A. King Hubbert's peak by 1970for U.S. production might not be effected but the

slope of his production cu rve thereafte r would cer-

tainly be. U S . domestic production would plateau

rather than peak.

Secondly, the Middle East. Dr. Torrey's figures for

known primary and secondary oil may be higher

than some estimates and applying his total known

world r ecove rable oil figure of 861 b. b. pro rata to

his Middle East figures gives a final recovery factor

of 56O/o, which many m ay consider high but m ay not

be beyond the point of possibility.

Thirdly, Venezuela. I hope to comment later on

the implications of Dr. Torr ey's approach after Mr.

Martínez's paper.

Fourthly, the World . It is interesting to apply Dr.

Tor rey's al lowan ce to the world figures of total re-

coverable oil given by Dr. King Hubbert. Table II

1.

2.

3.

4.5.

6.

7.

8.

*

TABLE II - WORLD

Billion Barrels as of 1. 1.6

Torrey King Hubbert

Cumulative Production 131

Primary Reserves 297

Total Recoverab le Oil 1250

Primary Oil discovered 428 428Primary Oil still to be discovered 822


associated with 4. above

(Torrey's Total Recoverable Oil


associated with 5. above

on same proportion as item 6 .

to item 4. above. (830)

King Hubbert's Total Recoverable

amended by Torrey's ,allowance

for additional recovery. (2513)

"Energy Resource s", National A cademy of Sciences ,

being 861 b. b.) 433 (433)

Publication 1000-D, Washington 1962

shows the calculation similar to that of Table

whe reby King Hubber t's figure of 1,250 b. b . is ex

tended t o 2,500 b. b. The Weeks' 1961 figure for tot

recoverable oil is, of course, 3,500 b. b.

In brief, therefore, whilst the attempt by Dr. Torre

to carry his U.S.A. tertiary reserves ratios over t

the world is intended only as a guide, yet the resul

do not appear to conflict with previous es timates o

ultimate reserves .

However, in comparing the T orrey and King Hu

bert figures, I hope that I ha ve not been guilty of thcardinal sin of comparing "apples and pea rs", b

even if I have then the m ajor point is emphasize

that all reserve estimates can be extremely dang

rous if handled wrongly. It is so easy to equa

completely different types of oil reserves and jum

to wrong conclusions, which may well affect priva

or governmental investment, policy or action.

Recently, in Europe, we have had an extreme

good example of th is point. The Western Europea

Coal Producers took a n estimate of prim ary reserve

given in 1962 and then proceeded to calculate a d

ficiency of oil, ignoring the secondary recovefigures given in the same paper, which itself did n

fully consider the tertiary recovery possibilities. Th

result has been that a most misleading pic ture of th

industry has been widely publicised in Weste

Europe, which it is hoped Dr. Torrey's Paper will g

112



some way to combat, and I would lik e to foster dis-

cussion on this aspect of Dr. Tor rey's world re serves

figures.

P. D. TORREY replies. W e respectfully desi re to

call attenti on to th e fact th at we hav e only considered

oil in place that has already been discovered. Thus

our approach differs radically from that of Dr. Hub-

bert and other authorities, who have endeavored to

project future oil discovery.

W e have recognized, and, as a matter of fact, have

emphasized the danger s of applying United States

oil recovery experien ce to other nations for the very

reasons which Mr. Ion has mentioned. Consequ ently,

we have depended largely on information that has

been supplied to us by various national authorities.

W e think tha t the recovery figures we ha ve listed

represent the best information that can be developed

at this time, but we would b e the first to admit th at

in future times these figures may not be subject toconsiderable revision. This is already the case, as

our paper st ates, in respect to the reco verable reser-

ves of the Kingdom of Saud i Arabia . We cannot

disagree with the projection of future rec overy from

the fields of Saudi Arabia, as they ha ve been ma de

by authoritie s of that n ation, for we are awa re how

grossly oil reserves have been u nderestim ated in the

past, We do believe that the people who have con-

tributed information on national oil reserves are

competent, and, as we have stated, we regret very

much that space limitations prevent us from inclu-

ding detailed information o n oil resources which has

been supplied to us by various natio nal authorities.

W. RUHL (Deutsche Erdöl-AG., Hamburg 1Ger-

many). Contrary to the term "oil in place" which has

been fixed terminologically by different authors,

there is no general agreement which geological,

physical, and economic factors ha ve to b e part of

the terminological fixation of the term "recoverable

rese rves ". Although, originally , a discussion of this

question was planned at this Congress, the problem

was given up bec ause it is not on ly ver y complex

but also ver y d elicate. There is hard ly a possibility

to reconcile with each other all the parameters, for,

apar t from the different physical prediction methods

and from the conventional economic factors as pre-

sent costs and crude prices and their tendencies -especially marketing questions as offer and sale,

exports and imports -, economic policy and even

world-policy play a grea t part.

In view of this situation we think th at Mr. Torrey

and his co- authors have well proce eded in th is field.

The classification into the groups "original oil con-

tent" , "primary recovery", and "additional reserves

from conventional fluid injection operations" is a

simple but good basis, not only to estimate the pre-

sent technical level but also to realize within a fewyears the technical and economic tendencies and to

apply them to future predictions. Therefore, one

should consider earnestly to find a way to come to

uniform statistics for all co untries on the basis which

Mr. Torre y used. Up to now , most of the oil pro-

ducing countries have in their statistics just the term

"recoverable reserves" without saying, how these

were determined and what th ey really mean. I think,

it should not be too difficult to come to a world-wide

understand ing in respect of th e terminolo gy of "pri-

mary" and "secondary recovery" or "fluid injection

methods".

P. D. TORREY replies. I appreciate highly the per-

tinent remarks of Professor Rühl.

Professor Rühl has recognized, a s my co-a uthors

and I have, the confusion that exists in definitions

concernin g oil reserves and the manner in which they

are recovered. Thus, we can heartily endorse the

proposals he has made concerning an agreement on

definitions.

T. A. HENDRICKS (United States Geological Sur-

vey, Denver, Co1oradolU.S.A.). This excellent paper

is certain to serve as a basic reference and source ofdata until additional development in future years

makes revision necessary. It should be made clear

that the paper treats with estimated oil in place in

known fields. Therefore, it by no means represents

an estim ate of the total oil reso urces of the world.

Such resources would include: 1) Fields yet to be

discovered , wether economically producible or too

costly to produce under present conditions; 2) oil in

the ground that will not be discovered because it is

Even in the United States, where ex ploration has

been most intensive, six times a s much favo rable

area is unexplored as that which has been adequately

explored. It is true that the obviously favorable areas

hav e been explored and that the incidence of oil in

the unexp lored area s will be less. In th e remainder of

the world, the proportion of unexp lored to explored

area s is much greater.

too costly.

113



When oil in fields to be discovered and in deposits

too costly to be found by foreseeable methods, is

added to the oil originally in place in known fields

estimated by the authors, the amount will far exceed

their figures. The amount of this oil to be discovered

sideration. We realize that many of the figures

our paper were already obsolete on the day the

were presented to the Congress, this being due to t

time that is required to assemble statistics on

World-wide basis.

and the smaller amount to be produced will depend

on continued improvement of geological and engi-neering techniques.

I wish to express the hope that a paper on this

subject will be a part of the program of all future

World Petroleum Congresses.

P.D. TORREY replies. Mr. Hendricks' comments

about our paper are timely and are worthy of con-

by the permanent organization of the World Petr

leum Congress would be most helpful.

As authors of the paper on "World Oil Resource

we can appreciate the value of continuing the studi

on which our paper has been based. It can be point

out tha t the assembly of the information is an unde

taking of considerable size, and that if a decision

made to continue the studies. the direct sDonsorsh

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06v08p0083 world oil resources

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