GCC has $65trn in oil, gas wealth

Gulf hydrocarbon producers sit atop nearly $65 trillion worth of recoverable oil and gas resources, as much as 47 times their 2011 GDP, according to a Qatari investment firm.

The wealth accounts for nearly a third of the total value of the world’s proven hydrocarbon resources, estimated at $200 trillion, said QNB Capital, an affiliate of Qatar National Bank.

At current oil and gas prices, the hydrocarbon wealth controlled by the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is estimated at $65 trillion, nearly 47 times their 2011 GDP and 93 per cent of the world’s GDP, QNB said in a study published this week.

It said the estimated wealth is almost 125 times the $521 billion earned by the GCC from oil and gas exports in 2011.

The report estimated the GCC’s oil reserves at 495 billion barrels, nearly 36 per cent of the world’s total proven crude deposits. The region also has around 42 trillion cubic metres of proven gas wealth, accounting for about 22 per cent of the world’s total.

A breakdown showed Saudi Arabia accounts for almost half the GCC total, followed by the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar which each have around a sixth of the total.

“These estimates are only indicative as hydrocarbons prices are volatile and hard to predict given that they are influenced by a number of factors. These factors include world economic growth, geo-political risk, energy efficiency and technological advancements.”

Official data showed Saudi Arabia, the world’s dominant oil power, controls around 266 billion barrels of proven oil deposits and nearly 7.5 trillion cubic metres of gas resources.

Oil and gas deposits in the UAE are estimated at 98.7 billion barrels and seven trillion cubic metres respectively while those in Kuwait are put at 101 billion barrels and three trillion cubic feet.

Qatar has around 15 billion barrels of oil and the GCC’s largest gas wealth of nearly 25 trillion cubic metres, the world’s third after Russia and Iran. Qatar’s gas deposits are concentrated in its gigantic offshore North Field, the world’s largest single reservoir of non-associated gas.

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