Saudi Arabia will overtake Russia as the world’s largest crude oil producer by 2015, as output from new Russian fields fails to offset increasing decline of oil at mature deposits, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said recently.
But while Russia’s output will plateau at 10.5 million barrels per day, Saudi Arabia’s will rise to match Russia’s in roughly 2015, and hit 14 million bpd by 2035.
Russia will see output fall to 9.7 million barrels per day by that date, provided it implements new stimulus measures for upstream production, the IEA said.
The government forecasts steady output of roughly 10 million barrels per day until 2020. The IEA figures are likely to be higher due to a difference in the basis for its calculations. As for the price of oil, the report warns that oil prices may reach an all-time high of $150 per barrel, if investments in the MENA region decline by about a third of the estimated $100 billion needed annually in the region.
Oil prices hit an all-time record $100 a barrel this year as result of Libya’s civil war.
As for Saudi Arabia, statistics suggest that the country’s treasury made 687 billion riyals ($183 billion) in the first eight months of 2011; however, experts expect his number to go down as Libya’s oil gradually regains ground in international markets.
Finally, Saudi’s oil reserve is estimated to be around 264.5 billion barrels.
