Characteristics and potential of reserve growth of the discovered giant oil fields in the Middle East

Abstract

Giant oilfields in the Middle East were taken to analyze the characteristics of reserve growth by comparing the estimated additions of recoverable reserves during different periods. The reserve growth potential of the discovered giant oil fields in the Middle East was predicted through statistics of annual reserve growth factors and building annual reserve-growth function by the least square method. The additions of recoverable reserves are comprised of reserves in newly discovered oilfields and incremental reserves of the giant oil fields discovered previously. The study shows that the incremental reserves in the giant oilfields discovered previously have increased sharply, but the reserves in newly discovered oilfields have decreased slightly over the past several decades. The incremental reserves in the giant oilfields discovered previously are the major contributor to the newly increased recoverable reserves, and their proportion increased from 71% in the 1980s to 96% in the 2000s. According to the established function of reserve growth, it is estimated that there will be about 4 366×108 tons of reserve growth in the giant oil fields discovered previously in the Middle East, suggesting great potential of reserve growth. Key words: recoverable reserves, reserve growth, giant oil and gas field, reserve estimation, least square method, the Middle East