Thursday, May 22, 2008

Iraq Could Have Largest Reserves In The World

Iraq could have largest oil reserves in the world

Iraq dramatically increased the official size of its oil reserves yesterday after new data suggested that they could exceed Saudi Arabia’s and be the largest in the world.

The Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister told The Times that new exploration showed that his country has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, with as much as 350 billion barrels. The figure is triple the country’s present proven reserves and exceeds that of Saudi Arabia’s estimated 264 billion barrels of oil. Barham Salih said that the new estimate had been based on recent geological surveys and seismic data compiled by “reputable, international oil companies . . . This is a serious figure from credible sources.”

3 comments:

Anaconda said...

A STABLE IRAQ IS CRITICAL TO WORLD OIL PRODUCTION: THE FULCRUM OF THE WORLD'S SUPPLY AND DEMAND OF OIL

The fact that Iraq has huge supplies of oil is not remarkable in itself. Experts knowledgable about Iraq'a crude oil potential have been saying for years that Iraq could have far larger oil reserves than generally known.

This story is remarkable because it communicates this knowledge to the general public.

And it puts in stark relief why America can't just walk away from Iraq. Iraq is critical to stable oil supplies on the world market. Iraq's oil is one of the last onshore reserves, that are inexpensive to "lift" and produce which hasn't been previously maximized. Growth potential is huge.

Iraq's oil supplies can be "ramped up" quickly. As the linked Times article states, Iraq currently pumps 2.5 million barrels a day.

But it could be increased to 4 million a day relatively quickly and twice that over time. And the oil is fresh: Because of the sanctions on Saddam's Iraq, relatively little oil was produced, compared to total reserves. Huge virgin deposits exist in Iraq.

Iraq's government has tremendous incentive to get their house in order: They are, after all, sitting on a gold mine.

All parties in that squabbling, divided country, should know that, with as much crude oil (money) as exists, a modicum of compromise will ensure all parties will have wealth, power, and influence in that troubled part of the world.

Iraq can, again, be the leading country of the Middle East, the true inheritors of Sumer, Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization.

So. Iraq could be the most powerful state in the Middle East: No wonder Iran wants to keep Iraq weak and divided, and America pinned down and bled white.

A united Iraq, with maximized oil production, encouraged and facilitated by the West, would quickly push Iran back away from any potential to dominate the Middle East.

Postscript: Iraq's being the world's oil pivot, is the dirty little secret why, even if Democrats win the presidency, America will not beat a hasty retreat for the exits.

At this point: prior to super-giant oil fields coming on line off Brazil's coast, and giant oil fields coming on line off West Africa's coast, both in 7 to 10 years time, Iraq is the linchpin, or fulcrum of the balance between supply and demand in world oil markets.

And every government in the world knows that.

Anaconda said...

IRAQ: ANATOMY OF ABIOTIC OIL GEOLOGY

References,
GIS in an Overview of Iraq Geology,
Jingyao Gong and Larry Gerken,
Nikolia Kudryavtsev,
(Available by direct link at left-hand column, under Modern Russian-Ukrainian Theory)
Wikiepia -- Pangaea
Wikiepia -- Alfred Wegener
Emergence of the lower tertiary Wilcox trend in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico,
WorldOil.com, May 2005
(available by direct link at left-hand column, under America's Deep Wells, listed as Emergence of the Lower Tertiary)

Nikolia Kudryavtsev is the father of modern Russian-Ukrainian theory of deep, abiotic petroleum origins.

Kudryavtsev's rule: Where there are large petroleum deposits, there are petroleum deposits all through the geologic strata or column, down to the bedrock and even below the bedrock or basement.

More concisely:

Where there's oil,
there's more oil.

Iraq is the best illustration of Kudryavtsev's Rule. Iraq has a contimuum of oil fields as classed by size. Please see reference, Overview of Iraq Geology, as this provides a series of diagrams and maps of Iraq's oil fields, tectonic plates, and sedimentary deposits.

After reviewing the above cited reference, it is clear that Iraq's oil deposits are corollated with the tectonic plate boundaries within Iraq, just as abiotic oil theory predicts. Alfred Wegener, who developed Tectonic Plate, Contintal Drift theory, which was drawn upon heavily by modern Russian-Ukrainian abiotic theory, postulated that the Arabian tectonic plate and the Eurasian plate swung together, causing the buckling and folding seen in the diagrams. Please see the Wikiepia entry for Pangaea, where an animated "movie" illustrates the drifting of the tectonic plates, showing how the Arabian plate came together with the Eurasian plate.

This tectonic collision causes compression and fracturing in the two colliding edges, with an initial upheaval, but then with further fracturing, an eventual collaspe and subsidence occurs, increasing pressure, causing expulsion of hydrocarbons into the sedimentary layers.

The diagrams presented in the Overview of Iraq Geology depict shallower geology, reflecting the level of technology then available (many diagrams rely on circa late 50's data) for imaging, and the limit of drilling technology at the time.

As demonstrated by the emergence of the lower tertiary in the deepwater Gulf of Meico, please see above referenced article, hydrocarbons are found in far deeper sediments around the world than have been explored for in Iraq.

Again, this is consistent with and predicted by abiotic oil theory.

And, no doubt, this information, along with cutting edge seismic imaging, has been relied on to report Iraq's oil reserves at 350 billion barrels of oil.

There is a repeated pattern that abiotic oil encompasses what "fossil" theory does not. Physics and chemistry come together in the huge pressure and heat as a result of gravity to combine in the creation of hydrocarbons and the evidence is in the planets, the moons, and meteorites of our solar sytem.

Truly, as in the days of the great voyages of discovery, when explorers relied on the stars, "the heavens," to navigate by, to find terra incognito, as the great Captain Cook did to circumnavigate the globe. Today, geophysicists and geochemists rely on the "heavens" to guide their understanding of today's deep terra incognito, in the form of information gleaned from the moon, Titan, meteorites, and Mars.

Oil geologists never learned this lesson, so are doomed to a type of mental scurvy, never learning to eat limes (the best available science) like Captain Cook did on the high seas, thus eliminating scurvy among his crew, therefore, banishing a scourge that had bedeviled mariners for ages.

Oil geologists cling to a hypothesis first postulated in 1757 in the dark ages of science. Like ignorant, scurvy afflicted mariners, they know not what afficts them, rubbing their worry beads together, hoping for deliverance, repeating their own dogma -- for comfort among their own kind.

Meanwhile, modern abiotic oil geologists lead the parade to ever bigger crude oil discoveries.

As the poor devils mumble their kant and grope for their shamans.

Anaconda said...

CORRECTION: TERTIARY GEOLOGICAL AGE IS 65.5 TO 1.8 MILLION YEARS AGO

Serious correction must be made to this comment. In the course of the article it was stated that the Wilcox Tertiary was a deeper strata being explored in the gulf of Mexico that proved petroleum existed in deeper strata in Iraq than had so far been explored and produced oil. This was error, as the Tertiary age is 65.5 to 1.8 million years ago, a baby as geologic time goes. This is at the top of the stratigraphic geology. This writer stated it was below the stratigrphic profile presented in Geology of Iraq. Apologies for the error.

Not withstanding the error, Petroleum according to abiotic theory will still be found deeper in the stratigraphic profile of Iraq's geology than has been explored thus far.