Small World, Big Market by Hebert Budd;

Author:Hebert, Budd;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Lexington Books
Published: 2012-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Exhibit 4.1: Major Oil Producing Regions in the World

Outliers of oil and gas

Before leaving our discussion on oil we will look quickly at other selected major oil and gas developments in the world. Each offers unique qualifications for being considered.

The delta area of the Niger River has proved a major source of “light crude” for the past three to five decades. Nigeria is a member of OPEC. According to the CIA Factbook, it is estimated that oil reserves in the country, mainly in the Niger River Delta area, total as much as thirty-seven billion barrels with average daily production as high as three million barrels a day, but normally two to three million barrels per day. The United States is the major destination for her oil followed by India, Brazil, Spain, France, and the Netherlands. There are several major oil companies represented in Nigeria, including Chevron, Texaco, and Mobil but Shell has the largest presence. Government corruption and local unrest by people living in the Delta have been a major concern to oil and gas operators for quite some time. The general citizenry are suspicious of the government and the oil companies for they see little benefit to themselves derived from oil production in their country. Oil and gas exports accounted for 83 percent of the federal government revenue in 2000. Nigeria is one of the few major oil producing nations with the potential to increase its oil output as it expands exploration out into deep water lying off the delta. Her reserves are the tenth largest in the world and she is one of the few producers of “sweet crude,” making her crude desirable for refining. Nigeria has potential as a continued producer of oil, but her internal politics create uncertainty for a steady flow of production.

According to a recent article in Bloomberg Newsweek (March 18–March 24, 2013, p. 10), a new discovery in Kenya by Tulla Oil and Canada’s Africa Oil have found oil in two test wells located in the Rift Valley in the country. They were planning to drill eleven more test wells in 2013. Kenya has already begun talks to construct a five billion dollar system of pipelines to the Indian Ocean for prospective customers such as China, India and other Asian counties. If tests prove that there are sufficient production and reserves, this could be a considerable boom to Eastern African countries which are mostly net importers of oil today.

A new development in Namibia has already drawn international attention. Development, however, is too early to tell the future of initial tests.

Shale oil in North Dakota is making the state one of the United States’ largest oil producers. According to The Economist (March 16–March 22, 2013, p. 31), oil production in North Dakota was exceeded only by Texas on a state by state basis. In an earlier article by The Economist (February 16–February 22, p.32/33), the author outlines probable oil shale potential in California, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. The largest prospect, California, is estimated by

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