2019-02-01_Popular_Science

PICTURED

how much

oil is left?

THE POCKETS OF OIL TRAPPED BETWEEN EARTH’S STRATA ARE

fi nite, at least on a human time scale. It takes millennia of

immense pressure and heat to transform ancient remains

into fossil fuels. Economists and geologists are still debating

when, whether, and how we’ll run out —the answer is a

moving target. In the meantime, here’s our best guess as to

how much of Earth’s milkshake we’ve got left to drink.

UNPROVEN BUT

PROBABLE RESERVES

UP TO 249 BN. BARRELS

These deposits could be in loca-

tions too remote or in rock too

solid to drill. Corporations might

get at them in the future if new

tech (and barrel prices) allow.

Much of the crude in the Permian

Basin in Texas and New Mexico

was once “probable,” but more-

precise drilling techniques goosed

it into the proven realm.

UNPROVEN BUT

POSSIBLE RESERVES

PORTION OF 249 BN. BARRELS

This oil might be highly viscous

and difficult to budge without

thermal or chemical stimulation.

Surveyors could also be eyeing a

promising-looking patch of rock

next to a trough that’s already

been tapped, but not be sure

how much useful oil is inside.

Either way, it’s unlikely to see

the surface anytime soon.

PROVEN RESERVES

35.2 BN. BARRELS

Oil companies measure reserves

based on how likely they are to go

get them. Proven reserves are

those they already have the tech

and infrastructure to extract.

Though the rate at which they

find new troves has slowed, mod-

ern tech allows for locating and

tapping into hydrocarbons that

were inaccessible decades ago.

20 SPRING 2019 • POPSCI.COM by Jennifer Lu / photograph by The Voorhes

TOP PROSPECTORS

Though the U.S. became the

top oil producer in 2018, our

proven reserves (shown here

in billions of barrels) didn’t

crack the top five.

301
VENEZUELA

266

SAUDI ARABIA

170

CANADA

158

IRAN

143

IRAQ