In the 1970s, fear gripped the Western world that Earth was running out of oil. Since then, vast new reserves have been discovered that can be extracted with current technology. The known crude oil reserve amounts to 1 trillion barrels-enough for 45 to 50 years at current world production rates-and estimated reserves are at least 1 trillion barrels more.
Known Reserves
1 trillion barrels (one barrel equals 42 gallons). These are reserves revealed through exploratory drilling and ready to be profitably produced.
Estimated Reserves
Between 300 billion and 1 trillion barrels. These are estimated reserves based on research that uses advanced technologies, including 3-D seismic imaging and supercomputer modeling.
Unconventional Resources
These include tar sands, oil shales, extra heavy oil and oil synthesized from organic sources such as coal. These could potentially add to the world's oil supply in the future but are too costly to produce now. These are not included in total reserves.
SOURCES: American Petroleum Institute; Oil & Gas Journal, December 1995
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