Tokyo (Platts)--15Nov2010/821 am EST/1321 GMT

      
The world should be able to find more than 50 million b/d of new crude
production by 2035 if sufficient investment is made into its current proven
reserves, International Energy Agency Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka told
Platts Monday.

     "We think it's possible [but] it's a matter of how much financial
investment it is possible," Tanaka said in an interview in Tokyo. "The 50
million b/d [of oil] certainly sounds big as it is four times bigger than
Saudi Arabia's current capacity but there are plenty of reserves already." 

     "The proven reserves exceed 1.3 trillion barrels, which is more than 40
years of output at a current rate," said Tanaka, adding that there is a huge
potential to increase supply from unconventional resources, including those
from deepwater layers.

     "The issue is how quickly we can develop this capacity and timely manner
we can put resources to the market," Tanaka said. "So the investment issue is
above the ground risk, not the underground risk." 

     "In the short term, we think that the oil market looks well supplied," he
added.

     Tanaka's comment comes after the IEA said November 9 that unconventional
oil production is expected rise to 9.5 million b/d by 2035, a fourfold
increase from the 2009 level of 2.3 million b/d.

     The IEA forecast in its latest World Energy Outlook that global oil
demand would rise to 99 million b/d in 2035, 15 million b/d more than in 2009,
while world oil supply would climb to 96 million b/d, with processing gains
filling the gap of 3 million b/d between demand and supply.

     The IEA sees world oil production rising by 15 million b/d from 2009
levels to 96 million b/d in 2035, with OPEC set to boost its market share to
more than 50% in 2035.

		--Takeo Kumagai, takeo_kumagai@platts.com

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