Climate change threatens globally exploitable oil and gas fields

Most of the world’s oil and gas fields are threatened by extreme weather events, such as storms, floods and extreme temperatures caused by climate change, according to risk management company Verisk Maplecroft.

Access to 600 billion barrels of oil, or 40% of the world’s recoverable oil and gas reserves, is threatened by extreme weather conditions.

Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Nigeria, which have a dominant position among energy producers, are among the countries most vulnerable to the weather, said Verisk Maplecroft, based in Britain, in a research note.

Climate change this year has put the fuel industry in a difficult position as extreme weather conditions hit the US oil and gas refinery off the coast of Mexico, causing fuel shortages and reduced production. .

“These types of events will become more frequent and more extreme, causing even greater shocks within the oil and gas industry,” said Rory Clisby, an environmental analyst at Verisk Maplecroft.

Slightly more than 10% of the recoverable energy reserves that are exploitable are located in areas of extreme risk, according to the assessment of the mentioned consulting company, while about 1/3 of the areas of deposits are characterized as areas of high risk for extreme weather events.

For Saudi Arabia, the extreme heat, lack of water, but also sandstorms, can be the “Achilles heel”, according to the research.

For Africa’s second-largest oil producer, Nigeria, where natural resources are located around the Niger River Delta system, drought and floods are the biggest threats, according to the same study.

Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ