Investors and oil market watchers are constantly wondering just how much oil is in the ground. Just how large are each country’s oil reserves? The market seems to cycle between cries that we have reached “peak oil” (a term indicating the maximum rate of oil extraction after which oil extraction will permanently decline), and waves of new discoveries. For the last five to seven years we seem to be in the latter part of the cycle with major new discoveries of recoverable oil made in Brazil, the United States, Venezuela and Canada. These discoveries lead to exuberant optimism about the amount of oil beneath the surface. But what do we really know about oil reserves and why is it important? For investors and industry watchers the major issues are: 1 – size of reserves 2 – efficiency of recovery and 3 – long term industry stability. All three of […]