BP raises Saudi oil reserves 12pc in first big change in 30 years

BP has raised estimates for Saudi Arabia’s crude oil reserves by 12 percent, marking the first major change to the country’s estimated reserves since 1989.

In its benchmark 2019 Statistical Review of World Energy, BP recalibrated some Saudi gas reserves as oil, allowing Riyadh to close in on Venezuela’s top spot as the world’s largest reserves holder. BP said Saudi Arabia’s proved oil reserves were revised to 297.7 billion barrels at the end of 2018 from 266.2 billion a year earlier, only slightly behind 303 billion in Venezuela.

Canada was third with 168 billion barrels, followed by Iran with 156 billion and Iraq with 147 billion.