Comment: Just how much oil does the Middle East really have, and does it matter?

Publication date: 2005-04-04
First published in: Oil & Gas Journal
Authors: Colin J. Campbell

Abstract:

Just a few months ago, oil economists were debating if the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries had the power to hold oil prices in the mid-$20/bbl range. There was a talk of the increasing demands for oil from China’s new economic prosperity, but generally, the age-old perception that supply must always equal demand in a properly functioning open market remained intact.

Admittedly, it was recognized that production in North America was in constant decline, meaning that the need for growing imports was not about to abate. The growing dependence on oil from the Middle East did give rise to some concerns, with the countries in that region is commonly depicted as “politically unstable.”

Published in: Oil & Gas Journal, April 04, 2005, volume 103, issue 13
Available from: Oil & Gas Journal Online