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CERA: Aramco chief calls for energy planning, cooperation

Oil & Gas Journal

Sam Fletcher
Senior Writer

HOUSTON, Feb. 13 -- There are enough conventional and unconventional petroleum resources to satisfy global demand for liquid fuels "for many decades," but it will require better planning and cooperation between industry and governments to accomplish that task, the president and chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco said.

In the opening address at the annual energy conference sponsored by Cambridge Energy Research Associates in Houston, Abdallah S. Jum'ah said, "The world simply cannot afford to leave massive quantities of oil, gas, and coal in the ground and move precipitously to unproven alternatives, while still hoping to satisfy future growth in global energy demand."

Head of the world's largest oil corporation, Jum'ah said, "Even if we leave aside the potential of coal-to-liquids, gas-to-liquids, and biofuels, the world's total in-place endowment of conventional oil and nonconventional fuels ranges between 13-16 trillion bbl. To put that number in perspective, to date the world has consumed roughly 1.1 trillion bbl, or between 7-9% of the in-place endowment." Analysts estimate recoverable conventional and unconventional resources at 3-6 trillion bbl "depending on the economics of development, improvements in technology, recovery factors to be achieved, environmental considerations, government policies, and of course regional and global political trends," said Jum'ah. The 3 trillion bbl estimate is "ultraconservative" and "will be exceeded in most scenarios," he said.