This is a list of countries with proven reachable oil reserves
in billions of barrels, and is a rough estimate based on the
ability to recover the oil by current technological and
economical means.
Saudi Arabia - 262
Saudi Arabia is the largest exporter of petroleum in the world,
and plays a leading role in OPEC, which stands for The
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries; an
international organization made up of eleven oil producing
nations.
Canada - 180
Canada's Athabasca Oil Sands Project is what puts Canada on the
map in this list. Current surface mining techniques and in-situ
methods to extract bitumen from the oil sands make for an
overwhelmingly positive future for Canada's oil industry.
Iran - 126
Iran's economy relies heavily on oil export revenues, and as oil
prices rise, Iran's economy improves. Iran is in the process of
diversifying by investing some of it's oil reserves into other
areas, such as petrochemicals; and is in the process of creating
more favorable climates for foreign investment.
Iraq - 115
According to oil industry experts, new exploration may raise
Iraq's reserves up to 300 billion barrels. This has created
global foreign interest to re-establish within the country. The
US, UK, France, China, Russia, and Japan all vie for major
concessions complicated by unrest in the post-Saddam Hussein era.
Kuwait - 102
Though the loss has been estimated at 2% of total oil reserves,
Kuwait has recovered fully from the invasion of Iraq. The KPC,
or Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, has grown to become one of the
ten largest oil companies in the world.
U.A.E. - 98
At one time an underdeveloped region, by 1985 the UAE had the
highest per capita income in the world. The largest areas of
petroleum production occur in two of the seven constituent parts
of the UAE; these being Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi qualifies
as a oil state in the same sense as Kuwait.
Venezuela - 77
Venezuela is the fifth largest oil exporter in the world, and a
founding member of OPEC. Oil output has been hampered at times
due to protest and controversy, but the country remains an
active contributor to the world supply of oil.
Russia - 60
Russia has the world's largest natural gas reserves, the second
largest coal reserves, and the eighth largest oil reserves. The
country is the world's largest exporter of natural gas and the
second largest oil exporter. Reorganization of the Russian
Energy Sector has shown improvements in the industry over the
last few years.
Libya - 39
Though sanctions against Libya had been removed by United States
President Bush and also by The United Nations, some Libyan
authorities caution foreign optimism about prospects in the
country's socialist driven economy. Nonetheless, the removal of
sanctions allows Libya to drive forward.
Nigeria - 35
Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa, and is a major
oil supplier to both the United States and Western Europe.
Proven oil reserves are expected to be expanded to 40 billion
barrels by the year 2010.
About the author:
Austin Culley is the Vice President of Oil-Net.Com Inc.
http://www.oil-net.com
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