Statoil Sees OECD Peak

CALGARY – Production of conventional oil in OECD countries will peak as soon as in 2010, increasing the world’s dependence on the OPEC cartel and Russia, and continuing the rush to non-conventional deposits such as Alberta’s oilsands, the chief executive of Norway’s Statoil ASA predicted yesterday.

Helge Lund, in Calgary to talk about Statoil’s oilsands strategy, said he expects to see continued international interest in Alberta’s resources, regardless of its high development costs and human resources challenges.


“We see cost challenges all over the world — in Norway, North Africa, West Africa, the Gulf of Mexico,” the 44-year-old economist and former McKinsey & Co. consultant said during a wide-ranging discussion with reporters. “I don’t think there is any safe haven in the global oil-and-gas industry.”

…While other global companies are reluctant to offer predictions on when oil production might peak, Mr. Lund said Statoil’s view is that it will come between 2010 and 2015 for the 30 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Financial Post