144
39
th
Annual Report
A quick look at the table reveals that over 188 thousand barrels
of oil equivalent were introduced to the market in 2012, this figure
doesn
’
t include the fields which no data about them was availed.
C- Unconventional Hydrocarbons Resources
Interest in unconventional hydrocarbon resources continued to
increase in 2012, but in contrary to earlier expectation, the global
gas market has not seen a revolution outside the United States.
Shale gas reserves were seen to be lower than previous estimates in
many countries of the world
i
. Nevertheless, an International Energy
Agency (IEA) report has in mid- 2012 forecasted that a boom in
unconventional natural gas over the next 20 years could see the US
and others benefit from cheaper energy, while the Middle East’s
importance to gas production will decline.
IEA chief economist stated that the majority of production
increases would occur after 2020 as producers need time to develop
a commercial unconventional gas sector. Expanding unconventional
production will require a total of 1 million unconventional wells to
be produced globally by 2035 in comparison to the 500 thousand of
such wells drilled over the past 20 years
ii
. Practically, it is premature
to simply consider such a large number of wells, as stated in a study
of the Chinese Strategic Research Center of Oil & Gas Resources,
China aims to pinpoint 50- 80 prospects in its depositional basins
until 2020, and expects to have 20- 30 exploratory and productive
areas out of them
iii
.
i
Survey of Energy Resources: Shale Gas – What’s New, World Energy Council, 2012
ii
IEAWorld Energy Outlook special report on unconventional gas, “Golden Rules for a
Golden Age of Gas”, Summary of Selected Key Outcomes, 15 June 2012
iii
Prof.Li Yuxi, Shale Gas Resource Potential, Survey and Exploration in China, Strategic
Research Center of Oil & Gas Resources, MLR, China, April 2011
