Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources
World oil use is projected to grow to 98 million b/d in 2015 and 118 million b/d in 2030. Total world natural gas consumption is projected to rise to 134 Tcf in 2015 and 182 Tcf in 2030. In an era of declining production and increasing demand, economically producing oil and gas from unconventional sources is a key challenge to maintaining global economic growth. Some unconventional hydrocarbon sources are already being developed, including gas shales, tight gas sands, heavy oil, oil sands, and coal bed methane. Roughly 20 years ago, gas production from tight sands, shales, and coals was considered uneconomic. Today, these resources provide 25% of the U.S. gas supply and that number is likely to increase. Venezuela has over 300 billion barrels of unproven extra-heavy oil reserves which would give it the largest reserves of any country in the world. It is currently producing over 550,000 b/d of heavy oil. Unconventional oil is also being produced in Canada from the Athabasca oil sands. 1.6 trillion barrels of oil are locked in the sands of which 175 billion barrels are proven reserves that can be recovered using current technology. Production from 29 companies now operating there exceeds 1 million barrels per day. The report provides an overview of continuous petroleum sources and gives a concise overview of the current status of varying types of unconventional oil and gas resources. Topics covered in the report include: an overview of the history of Oil and Natural Gas; an analysis of the Oil and Natural Gas industries, including current and future production, consumption, and reserves; a detailed description of the different types of unconventional oil and gas resources; an analysis of the key business factors that are driving the increased interest in unconventional resources; an analysis of the barriers that are hindering the development of unconventional resources; profiles of key producing regions; and, profiles of key unconventional oil and gas producers.
- Research Organization:
- Research Reports International, Inc., Evergreen, CO (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 893471
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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