Anatomy of an oil discovery

On March 27th, Rigzone reported a new oil discovery by Petrochina in Bohai Bay. The Nanpu block of the Jidong field was said to hold 2.2 billion barrels of oil, supporting a flow of 200 thousand barrels of day within three years. On May 3rd, PetroChina announced that the earlier number was far too low. The new estimate stated that the field contained 7.35 million barrels (1.02 million tons) of oil equivalent. But this was not all: the Bohai Bay rim could have geological structures holding 146 billion barrels! Informed evaluations of oil finds are useful in judging whether the world is facing a near-term peak in production. The Jidong discovery provides a window on the world’s oil future.

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