Among them is an Iraqi.. the 10 largest oil fields in the world, according to the remaining proven reserves

Among them is an Iraqi.. the 10 largest oil fields in the world, according to the remaining proven reserves

2023-05-23

The list of the 10 largest oil fields in the world with proven remaining reserves embracing the Persian Gulf region, led by Saudi Arabia, shows the largest share.

The Arabian Gulf region is rich in fossil fuels, which makes it the world’s leading country in owning oil reserves and has placed it at the center of the global energy market.

The oil reserves of the Middle East region reached 869.6 billion barrels by the end of last year (2022), up from 860.01 billion barrels in 2021, representing almost half of the global reserves of 1.757 trillion barrels by the end of 2022, according to Oil & Gas Journal data.

In the following lines, we review the 10 largest oil fields in the world in terms of remaining proven reserves, according to the data company Global Data, which was reported by its Energy Monitor website.

1- Saudi Ghawar field

At the top of the list of the 10 largest oil fields in the world with proven remaining reserves is the Saudi Ghawar oil field.

The data shows that the remaining confirmed reserves in the Ghawar field amount to about 49.9 billion barrels, while the extracted reserves amounted to about 96.1 billion barrels, according to Global Data.

The Ghawar field has been operating and pumping its production into the global oil market officially since 1951, as its discovery dates back to 1948.

Since its discovery, Ghawar has been classified as the largest onshore field in the world in terms of its proven conventional reserves, and its current production is approximately 5 million barrels per day, which is almost half of Saudi Arabia’s production.

2- The American Permian Basin

The Permian Basin, the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the United States, ranks second in the list of the top 10 oil fields by remaining proven reserves.

The remaining oil reserves in the US Permian Basin are estimated at 32.7 billion barrels, while the extracted reserves amounted to about 2.3 billion barrels, according to information seen by the Energy Research Unit.

The Permian represented one of the main factors in the oil production boom that America witnessed in the past decade, thanks to the fact that it contains more than 7 thousand sedimentary layers containing oil.

And in 1920, the first well was drilled in the Permian, before it became among the world’s largest oil producers, with an amount exceeding 5.5 million barrels per day at the present time, according to the latest estimates of the US Energy Information Administration.

3- Saudi Zulf field

In third place, the Saudi Zulf field – which was discovered in 1965 – was included in the list of the 10 largest oil fields in the world according to the remaining reserves.

The remaining confirmed reserves in the Saudi Zulf field amounted to about 20.3 billion barrels of oil, while the extracted reserves amounted to 7.5 billion barrels.

In 2022, the Saudi giant Aramco awarded a contract worth $4.5 billion, which includes the development of the offshore Zulf field, to 3 major international contractors.

The Kingdom aims to double the field’s production – which is currently estimated at between 550 and 600 thousand barrels per day of Arab medium crude – by investing about $8 billion.

4- Saudi Coral field

Saudi Arabia continues to dominate the list of the 10 largest oil fields in the world in terms of remaining reserves, through the Al Marjan field, which ranked fourth.

According to Global Data, the oil reserves extracted from the Al Marjan field amounted to about 7.7 billion barrels, while the remaining proven reserves amounted to about 18.8 billion barrels.

Saudi Arabia discovered the Al-Murjan field in 1968, and its production reached 270,000 barrels per day, according to what was monitored by the Energy Research Unit.

The Kingdom is working on developing the Al Marjan field to increase its production of Arab Medium crude oil by 300,000 barrels per day.

The year 2019 witnessed the signing of 34 agreements with local and international companies, which included work to increase crude and gas production from the Al-Marjan and Onshore fields, with investments amounting to $18 billion.

Al-Mourjan development also includes processing 2.5 billion cubic feet per day of gas, and working to increase production by 360,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids and others.

5- Saudi Safaniya field

While the Saudi Safaniya field came in fifth place in the list of the 10 largest oil fields in the world, according to the remaining reserves.

The remaining confirmed reserves in the Safaniya field amounted to about 15 billion barrels of oil, while the extracted reserves from the field amounted to about 19.2 billion barrels.

Safaniya is the world’s largest offshore conventional source oil field in terms of proven reserves, which was discovered in 1951, according to Aramco classification.

The field is located 260 km north of the city of Dhahran, at 50 km in length and 15 km in width, according to what was monitored by the Energy Research Unit.

6- Saudi Shaybah field

In sixth place, the Saudi Shaybah field came in the list of the 10 largest oil fields in the world that have remaining reserves.

Global Data states that the remaining proven reserves in the Shaybah field amounted to 14.5 billion barrels of oil, while the extracted reserves amounted to 6.5 billion barrels.

Although the field was discovered in 1968, the difficult terrain and climate conditions prevented the development of Shaybah for several years, leaving it without any development for 30 years.

During the 1990s, Aramco decided to develop the field using innovative methods that helped it overcome the challenges and difficulties surrounding the Shaybah field. Production began in 1998, and its value has increased – now – amid its high oil quality and less pollution than others.

7- Saudi Khurais field

The Saudi Khurais field ranked seventh in the list of the 10 largest oil fields in the world in terms of remaining proven reserves.

The remaining reserves in the Khurais field amounted to about 14 billion barrels of oil, while the extracted reserves from the field amounted to 4.7 billion barrels, according to Global Data.

Khurais is located in the eastern region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and its production reached 1.25 million barrels per day in 2022, with expectations that it will reach a peak of 1.42 million barrels per day of crude oil and condensate in 2025, according to Global Data information, which was monitored by the Energy Research Unit.

8 – American Eagle Ford Basin

While the American Eagle Ford Basin came in eighth place, in the list of the 10 largest oil fields in the world with proven remaining reserves.

It is estimated that the remaining proven reserves amount to about 12 billion barrels of oil, while the extracted reserves reached 3.4 billion barrels.

Eagle Ford is one of the largest shale basins in the United States, with current production of 1.1 million barrels per day.

8- Al-Barqan Al-Kabir field

In ninth place, the Kuwaiti Al-Burgan Al-Kabir field came in the list of the 10 largest fields in the world in terms of remaining oil reserves.

The remaining oil reserves in the Great Burgan field amounted to about 11.2 billion barrels, while reserves of about 39.7 billion oil were extracted from it.

The history of the Burgan field is linked to the start of the oil industry in Kuwait, as geological surveys prompted the country to carry out the first drilling operation in 1937 in the Burgan area to discover oil.

The huge quantities of oil in the Burgan field – which exploded as soon as they were reached – made it difficult to control them through the use of mud at that time, which highlights the huge wealth it contains since its discovery on February 22, 1938.

The Kuwaiti field is divided into 3 smaller fields, Burgan, Magwa and Al-Ahmadi, and produces an estimated 1.7 million barrels of crude oil per day.

10- Iraqi Rumaila field

The last place in the list of the 10 largest oil fields in the world with remaining reserves went to the Iraqi Rumaila field, according to Global Data data.

The remaining confirmed reserves in the Iraqi Rumaila field amounted to about 9.3 billion barrels, while the extracted reserves amounted to about 20.4 billion barrels.

Discovered in 1953, Rumaila is the largest oil-producing field in Iraq and represents about a third of the country’s supply of crude.

The Rumaila field began commercial production in 1954, with its operating stake distributed at 47.6% to the British Oil Company BP, 46.4% to the Chinese PetroChina Company, and 6% to the Iraqi SOMO Company.

The average production of the field – currently – is about 1.47 million barrels per day of crude oil, which is the highest in 30 years, with Iraq aiming to raise its production to 1.7 million barrels per day.

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