Oil reserves

The proven global oil reserves of 1,258bn barrels, excluding Canadian oil sands, are enough for 42 years at the 2008 production rates, a BP review said.

On the same basis, global gas reserves are sufficient for 60 years and coal 122 years, the 2009 BP Statistical Review of World Energy said.

Reflecting the extremes of the world economy in 2008, strong growth followed by sharp decline, the review shows that overall primary energy consumption nudged up just 1.4%