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28 March 2024

GCC share of global oil wealth seen soaring to 70%

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By Staff

Gulf Arab countries controlled nearly 45 per cent of the world’s current proven conventional oil resources and the share could soar to 70 per cent before the year 2050, according to a Kuwaiti research centre.
 
The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations also captured 25 percent of total world oil crude exports and retained 17 percent of world proven gas reserves, said the Diplomatic Center for Strategic Studies (DCSS).
 
“The share of the GCC to the world oil reserves is predicted to rise from the current 45 percent to 70 percent during the first decades of the current century.”
 
In a study, DCSS said that in 2010, the Gulf Region produced over 25.2 million barrels of oil per day, and 44.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, accounting for over 30 percent of the world's oil production, 15 percent of gas production, and 32 percent of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.
Country-wise, Saudi Arabia retains 38.7 percent of world oil reserves whereas the shares of Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar stand at 14.8 percent, 14.3 percent and 3.7 percent respectively.
 
As the biggest oil producer in the world and with a proven reserve of 264 billion barrels, Saudi Arabia could continue oil supplies for the next 80 years at the current production levels, the report said.
 
Saudi Aramco has carried out a mega investment program at a cost exceeding $ 100 billion and, consequently, increased production capacity to 12.5 million barrels a day. There are plans to bring capacity to 15 million barrels a day by 2015, according to the report. “Proven oil reserves in the GCC region are poised to increase due to advanced technologies being used in oil exploration processes. Additionally, engineering and geological studies have shown that new oil discoveries will possibly be announced in the GCC region.”