Saudi oil reserves - overestimated by 40%?

Sesshoumaru

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/08/saudi-oil-reserves-overstated-wikileaks

Guardian wrote:

The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom's crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%.

I recall reading a few times about the possibility the Saudis were essentially bluffing about how much oil they have. But reading this it seems we should be taking this possibility more seriously. How much closer is peak oil if Saudi reserves have been overestimated by 40%?

Ghost Estate

Won't affect me, I have a horse outside.

I'll burn election posters for heat

skregs

Sesshoumaru wrote: »

How much closer is peak oil

A better question would be how long has it been since we reached peak oil

Ghost Estate

In Soviet Russia, Peak oil reaches you!

cnocbui

Of course it would not be in Saudi Arabias interest for the world to find out their oil reserves were less than previously thought, otherwise something really terrible might happen like the price of oil skyrocketing. That would be absolutely awful, they would have to build more vaults. :rolleyes:

zod

Saudi Arabias quota for producing oil is defined by opec. Opecs quotas are calculated by remaining reserves.

Low capacity left .. lower quota.

They seek a balance between getting a good price and not scaring the world into seeking alternatives.

from Wikipedia :

The economic needs of the OPEC member states often affects the internal politics behind OPEC production quotas. Various members have pushed for reductions in production quotas to increase the price of oil and thus their own revenues.[18] These demands conflict with Saudi Arabia's stated long-term strategy of being a partner with the world's economic powers to ensure a steady flow of oil that would support economic expansion.[19] Part of the basis for this policy is the Saudi concern that expensive oil or oil of uncertain supply will drive developed nations to conserve and develop alternative fuels. To this point, former Saudi Oil Minister Sheikh Yamani famously said in 1973: "The stone age didn't end because we ran out of stones."[20]
One such production dispute occurred on September 10, 2008, when the Saudis reportedly walked out of OPEC negotiating session where the organization voted to reduce production. Although Saudi Arabian OPEC delegates officially endorsed the new quotas, they stated anonymously that they would not observe them. The New York Times quoted one such anonymous OPEC delegate as saying “Saudi Arabia will meet the market’s demand. We will see what the market requires and we will not leave a customer without oil. The policy has not changed