US takes reserves crown

OSLO, July 4, 2016 – The US has greater recoverable oil reserves than Saudi Arabia or Russia, an independent study released on Monday revealed. According to Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy, the US boasts recoverable reserves of 264 billion barrels, more than half of which is unconventional shale oil.

Rystad Energy said in its press release the data “distinguishes between reserves in existing fields, in new projects and potential reserves in recent discoveries and even in yet undiscovered fields,” and was “applied to all fields in all countries.” The estimate put the figures for Saudi Arabia and Russia at 212 billion and 256 billion barrels of oil, respectively.

Remaining world oil reserves are estimated at 2,092 billion barrels. One-third of those reserves are found offshore. Another 30% of reserves require unconventional recovery.

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