Is the world awash in oil or running out? Sadad al-Husseini, former head of exploration at Saudi Aramco, says that production from existing oilfields is depleting so fast that explorers cannot find new oil fast enough. At the 6.7 percent rate of oilfield decline estimated by the International Energy Agency, the world needs 5 million barrels a day of additional new production annually just to maintain current supply. So Husseini foresees not a global glut, as oil bulls forecast, but flatlined production through 2021. “It is the reality that the oil sector has been pushed to the limit of its capabilities and that this difficult challenge will dominate energy markets for the rest of the decade,” Husseini said.
Oilfields are declining too fast to ever again reach an age of fossil fuel plenty
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