Iraqi oil reserves may surpass those of Saudi Arabia, oil minister says

[sabra]

Source: Azzaman

Explorations and surveys done in the past four years show that Iraqi oil reserves may exceed those of Saudi Arabi, said Oil Minister Husain al-Shahristani.

Speaking at Babylon University in the southern city of Hilla, the minister said Iraq has 115 billion barrels of proven reserves already explored and perhaps more than that number of reserves yet to be explored.

Saudi Arabia possesses 25 percent of the world’s proven petroleum reserves and its proven reserves are estimated at 262 billion.

Shahristani did not say whether the surveys conducted so far have substantially increased the country’s current proven reserves which still fall below those of Iran which has emerged as the world’s second largest after Saudi Arabia.

...

He said the National Oil Company has already reserved 25 massive fields for development.


Read more: http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news/2007-05-01/kurd1.htm

[htuttle]

1. "...and monkeys MIGHT fly out of my butt."

You just never know...

[thecrow]

2. Big deal - They're all going dry and killing the planet

Get a solar farm for Anbar; get a hydro electric plant for the Tigris and Euphrates; put a wind farm up anwhere you can.
All these will outlast oil.

[htuttle]

3. I've read that there is a saying in the Middle East

"My father drove a camel. I drive a Mercedes. My son drives a jet plane. His son will drive a camel."

Probably apocryphal, but probably accurate nonetheless.

[Heidi]

4. Kick.

:kick:

[jmc247]

5. Iraqi oil reserves may surpass those of Saudi Arabia, oil minister says

Source: Azzaman

Explorations and surveys done in the past four years show that Iraqi oil reserves may exceed those of Saudi Arabi, said Oil Minister Husain al-Shahristani.

Saudi Arabia possesses 25 percent of the world’s proven petroleum reserves and its proven reserves are estimated at 262 billion.

He said 78 oil fields were discovered most of them of the “gigantic or large” size. He said the National Oil Company has already reserved 25 massive fields for development.

He said the European Union was interested in Iraqi gas reserves. The EU was even keen to construct a gas pipeline network through Syria, Jordan and even Egypt to the terminals on the Mediterranean, he added.

Read more: http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-05-01\kurd1.htm

[lostnotforgotten]

6. The Real Reason Bush Invaded!

eom

[Old and In the Way]

7. Until we address the real reason for occupying Iraq, there is no "mission".

$500BB spent, loss of 100's of thousands of lives and casualties, and our international reputation in tatters because this administration would not have an honest dialogue with the American people about why we really invaded. Of course, had they done this, then we could have had an honest debate on energy policy and national security, but the Big Oil administration couldn't very well do this, could they?

[Delphinus]

8. Proof of what so many of us believed;

however, until an independent analysis is done by someone else, I'm not sure I'll take their report at face value. From what I understand on the Peak Oil board (here on DU), Saudi Arabia won't even let independent contractors in to verify their reserves.

[MidwestTransplant]

9. Color Dick Cheney unsurprised.

[ohio2007]

10. Venezuela claims its reserves dwarf Saudi Arabia,so much for peak oil nt

[NickB79]

12. Do you believe their claims?

Many people in the oil industry are beginning to openly question the stated reserves of many OPEC nations as vastly overblown.

BTW, most of Venezuela's oil claims are based on their heavy oil shales, which are extremely hard to produce profitably and in large quantities without causing massive environmental damage.

[lakeguy]

13. sure, buy another SUV then...

i'll stop by and pick it up when you can no longer afford to drive to work.

[NickB79]

16. Throw some flats and pots in a Hummer and you have a greenhouse

About the only halfway decent use I've ever found for one.

[tabasco]

11. The puppet government REALLY wants us to stay longer!

The only thing protecting them from their own people is US military and mercenaries.

If this is true, Exxon etc. knew about it a long time ago.

It's all about the oil.

[JCMach1]

14. Greg Palast was right this was the plan all along. The goal was to keep this oil off the market

to keep prices artificially high. That is still the plan. That's why Bush won't budge.

[NickB79]

15. One little problem: how do you get it out?

Good luck keeping those pipelines in one piece.

[conspirator]

17. This was the REAL intelligence report that led to the invasion nt