石油與天然氣咨詢公司Rystad Energy的最新報告顯示，美國目前擁有最大的石油儲量，俄羅斯和沙特阿拉伯分別位居第二和第三。

Rystad的數(shù)據(jù)涵蓋了已證實(shí)的現(xiàn)有油田中的石油、已經(jīng)被發(fā)現(xiàn)且可采集概率很大的石油，以及尚未發(fā)現(xiàn)油田的預(yù)計可采石油。美國超過50%的石油儲量都是以“非常規(guī)頁巖油”的形式存在，光德克薩斯州就有6,000萬桶這種類型的頁巖油。

如果Rystad使用更加保守的方式來估算現(xiàn)有石油儲量，美國則會以290億桶探明石油的儲量跌落到第四位，位于沙特阿拉伯、俄羅斯和伊朗之后。這一數(shù)值，和美國主要通過非常規(guī)提取手段獲取2,640億桶石油的潛在能力，凸顯了美國能源業(yè)新的水力壓裂技術(shù)的未來。

盡管如此，Rystad也闡述了美國著重開發(fā)其他可再生能源的重要性。報告寫道：“Rystad Energy現(xiàn)在估計，全球的石油儲量為2.092萬億桶，也就是說，按照目前的原油開采量300億桶，還可以開采70年。這一數(shù)值表明，地球上的可采石油存量已經(jīng)相對有限。而全球的汽車保有量可能會在未來30年內(nèi)從10億輛翻倍至20億輛。很顯然，光靠石油無法滿足個人交通日益增長的需求。”（財富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：嚴(yán)匡正

According to a new analysis from oil and gas consulting firm Rystad Energy, the United States is the country with the largest volume of oil reserves, with Russia and Saudi Arabia coming in second and third, respectively.

Rystad’s analysis includes oil in proven, existing fields, oil that has been discovered and will probably be recoverable, as well as an estimate for recoverable oil in as-yet discovered oil fields. More than 50% of the United States oil reserves come in the form of “unconventional shale oil,” with Texas alone containing 60 million barrels of this type of fossil fuel.

When Rystad applies more conservative estimates of proven oil reserves, the United States falls to fourth place, behind Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Iran with just 29 billion barrels of proved reserves. The difference between this figure and America’s potential capacity to extract 264 billion barrels, mostly through unconventional extraction methods, underscores the importance of new fracking technologies to the American energy future.

That said, the Rystad report also illustrates why it’s critical for the U.S. to focus on developing other, renewable forms of energy. “Rystad Energy now estimates total global oil reserves at 2092 billion barrels, or 70 times the current production rate of about 30 billion barrels of crude oil per year, the report reads. “This data confirms that there is a relatively limited amount of recoverable oil left on the planet. With the global car-park possibly doubling from 1 billion to 2 billion cars over the next 30 years, it becomes very clear that oil alone cannot satisfy the growing need for individual transport.”