(a prize for anyone who can quote artist and song).
ooh. oh let me guess. Jimi Hendrix, castles Made of Sand. least thats what comes to my mind.
FWIW, the Saudis really have not yet started secondary recovery like TX and most old US oilfields. Most oilfields produce about 30% of oil in place naturally, then require reservoir pressure maintenance, mostly by water injection, to continue recover, albeit at a lower rate and higher cost.
If the Saudis could go to massive scale secondary recovery quickly, say over 4-5 years, they still are likely going to have production rate decline, despite reserves going up. If they have already been counting secondary recovery potential as reserves, then the the global capacity probably is in a bind. This is not due to limits of mankind’s abilities, but due to the restraints of governments.
Tell us what you’ve seen
In faraway forgotten lands
Where empires have turned back to sand