Depletion and the future availability of petroleum resources

This study assesses the threat that depletion poses to the availability of petroleum resources. It does so by estimating cumulative availability curves for conventional petroleum (oil, gas, and natural gas liquids) and for three unconventional sources of liquids (heavy oil, oil sands, and oil shale)...

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Main Authors: Aguilera, Roberto F., Eggert, R., Lagos, G., Tilton, J.
Format: Journal Article
Published: International Association for Energy Economics 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/31861
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author Aguilera, Roberto F.
Eggert, R.
Lagos, G.
Tilton, J.
author_facet Aguilera, Roberto F.
Eggert, R.
Lagos, G.
Tilton, J.
author_sort Aguilera, Roberto F.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This study assesses the threat that depletion poses to the availability of petroleum resources. It does so by estimating cumulative availability curves for conventional petroleum (oil, gas, and natural gas liquids) and for three unconventional sources of liquids (heavy oil, oil sands, and oil shale). The analysis extends the important study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (2000) on this topic by taking account of (1) conventional petroleum resources from provinces not assessed by the Survey or other organizations, (2) future reserve growth, (3) unconventional sources of liquids, and (4) production costs. The results indicate that large quantities of conventional and unconventional petroleum resources are available and can be produced at costs substantially below current market prices of around US$120 per barrel. These findings suggest that petroleum resources are likely to last far longer than many are now predicting and that depletion need not drive market prices above the relatively high levels prevailing over the past several years.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2009
publisher International Association for Energy Economics
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-318612017-09-13T15:18:39Z Depletion and the future availability of petroleum resources Aguilera, Roberto F. Eggert, R. Lagos, G. Tilton, J. Oil reserve assessment production cost depletion Natural gas This study assesses the threat that depletion poses to the availability of petroleum resources. It does so by estimating cumulative availability curves for conventional petroleum (oil, gas, and natural gas liquids) and for three unconventional sources of liquids (heavy oil, oil sands, and oil shale). The analysis extends the important study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (2000) on this topic by taking account of (1) conventional petroleum resources from provinces not assessed by the Survey or other organizations, (2) future reserve growth, (3) unconventional sources of liquids, and (4) production costs. The results indicate that large quantities of conventional and unconventional petroleum resources are available and can be produced at costs substantially below current market prices of around US$120 per barrel. These findings suggest that petroleum resources are likely to last far longer than many are now predicting and that depletion need not drive market prices above the relatively high levels prevailing over the past several years. 2009 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/31861 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol30-No1-6 International Association for Energy Economics restricted
spellingShingle Oil
reserve assessment
production cost
depletion
Natural gas
Aguilera, Roberto F.
Eggert, R.
Lagos, G.
Tilton, J.
Depletion and the future availability of petroleum resources
title Depletion and the future availability of petroleum resources
title_full Depletion and the future availability of petroleum resources
title_fullStr Depletion and the future availability of petroleum resources
title_full_unstemmed Depletion and the future availability of petroleum resources
title_short Depletion and the future availability of petroleum resources
title_sort depletion and the future availability of petroleum resources
topic Oil
reserve assessment
production cost
depletion
Natural gas
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/31861