Regional reserves in peril if access continues to be restricted

Latin America's significant 3P reserves of up to 430Bboe might not be unearthed if national oil companies (NOCs) do not act within the next five years, according to Arnold Volkenborn, VP for Schlumberger Business Consulting.
"Latin American reserves can take decades to develop," Volkenborn said in a presentation. "The reserves in Latin America are often heavy crude, capital intensive and have longer development cycles."
Moreover, access to reserves is restricted in the Americas by NOCs that control the rights to the resource, according to Volkenborn.
"The net effect of restricting access to reserves by NOCs is the deferral of development over many decades," he said.
"The underlying assumption is oil will be more valuable in 50-100 years," he continued. "If this is not the case, the vast majority of Latin American reserves will never be developed."
By Christopher Lenton