Oil giant chief: World liquid energy resources far bigger than expected

Speaking to the World Energy Congress in Rome, Jum’ah said there were enough conventional and non-conventional liquid energy resources available for petroleum to be a significant part of the global energy mix for decades to come. „In general, we have grossly underestimated mankind’s ability to find new reserves of petroleum, as well as our capacity to raise recovery rates and tap fields once thought inaccessible to produce,” he said.

„I’m confident that this growth trend can continue,” he added. In addition to conventional oil, the president said he believed that non-conventional resources of liquid energy such as condensates, natural gas liquids, bitumen, coal-to-liquids and biofuels will contribute to the global supply. According to Jum’ah, taking into account both conventional and non-conventional resources, there are 13-16 trillion barrels of total in-place liquids available worldwide.

„To put those figures in perspective, to date we have consumed only 1.1 trillion barrels of oil, or 7 to 9% of resources in places, nearly all of that was conventional oil,” he said. However, some other speakers extended their worries about shortage of oil and gas, calling for developing alternative energy resources like renewable energy.

Paolo Scaroni, CEO of Italian energy giant Eni proposed three options for Europe to tackle energy shortage: „maximizing gas availability, developing alternative energy sources and saving as much energy as possible.” The World Energy Congress, organized by the World Energy Council (WEC) every three years, lasts until November 15. It is the first time Italy hosts the congress. (people.com)