(DJ) The former head of Saudi Arabian Oil Co’s oil exploration Wednesday sharply criticized U.S. government oil supply projections.
“The whole industry laughs at it,” said Sadad Al-Husseini, former executive vice president of exploration at Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company.
The EIA, statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, projects crude from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries oil will increase 90% in 20 years and that demand for Saudi oil will jump 137%, to about 22mbpd.
Saudi Arabia’s own models, forecast top production for the same time at a much lower 15mbpd. Saudi Arabia now produces some 9.5mbpd.
They are perhaps unaware of how unrealistic these numbers are,” Al-Husseini said.
OPEC supplies half of the world’s oil exports.
The EIA’s predictions assume very low oil prices. Al-Husseini said oil will be much more expensive, encouraging greater fuel economy and the development of alternative fuels that will shrink reliance on oil.
He also questioned U.S. projections on future oil finds and said declining production in existing will increase.
“Should we be worried? Yes,” he said.
Billions of barrels of oil calculated to be part of world reserves by the US government include nearly unusable pitch, he said.
Al-Husseini said he wanted to call their figures to task because they shape major government policy decision more than any other agency’s data.
