Recently, information obtained from the Information Center of the Ministry of Land and Resources showed that in 2009, the world’s proven remaining oil reserves totaled 185.523 billion tons, an increase of 1.641 billion tons, or 0.9%, compared to 2008. Among these, OPEC’s proven remaining oil reserves amounted to 130.325 billion tons, up by 995 million tons, or 0.8%, accounting for 70.2% of the world’s total reserves. In 2009, the top ten countries in terms of proven remaining oil reserves were, in order: Saudi Arabia, Canada, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Venezuela, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Libya, and Nigeria; China ranked thirteenth.
It is reported that global oil production declined last year, while global oil reserves saw a slight increase. Total oil production for the year came to 3.525 billion tons, a decrease of 1,159.7 million tons compared to 2008, representing a drop of 3.2%. OPEC’s oil production totaled 1.475 billion tons, down 1,346.2 million tons from the previous year, or a decline of 8.4%.
By region, in 2009 only Eastern Europe and the CIS countries, as well as the Western Hemisphere, saw increases in oil production. The former Soviet region experienced a substantial rise of 18.55 million tons, representing a growth rate of 3.0%. Russia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan recorded the largest increases, adding 8.25 million, 6.0 million, and 5.25 million tons, respectively. In the Western Hemisphere, production rose by 7.815 million tons, an increase of 0.9%. All other regions experienced declines to varying degrees: Western Europe saw a drop of 7.6%, Africa a decline of 6.0%, the Asia-Pacific region a decrease of 0.8%, and the Middle East a reduction of 8.3%. Last year, the world’s top ten oil-producing countries were: Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United States, China, Iran, Mexico, Canada, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
It is reported that last year, the Asia-Pacific region saw the largest increase in reserves, adding 840 million tons. The primary contributors to this growth were Australia and China: China added 596 million tons, while Australia added 249 million tons. Next was the African region, where the main increases came from Nigeria, Libya, and Angola, with growth rates of 2.7%, 1.4%, and 5.1%, respectively. The Middle East region recorded an increase of 1.008 billion tons, representing a 1.0% rise, driven primarily by Qatar and Iran. The Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union region remained unchanged. All other regions experienced declines to varying degrees, with Western Europe seeing a reduction of 44.8 million tons, or a 2.8% drop, and North America experiencing a decrease of 441 million tons, or a 1.0% decline. ??? Global natural gas reserves continue to grow. In 2009, the world’s remaining proven and recoverable natural gas reserves totaled 187.76 trillion cubic meters, an increase of 5.7% over 2008. Among these, the OPEC member countries held 90.13 trillion cubic meters of remaining proven reserves, accounting for 48.1% of the global total. By region, the Asia-Pacific region saw the largest increase, adding 3,063.503 billion cubic meters; Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union region added 4,842.207 billion cubic meters; the Middle East region added 1,886.479 billion cubic meters; and the African region added 33.188 billion cubic meters. The Western Hemisphere recorded an increase of 305.144 billion cubic meters. (Liu Zengjie)