Marine Science Affairs 



of petroleum, relying both on imports and domestic production. Similarly, 

 Western Europe is a heavy consumer, producing less than 10 percent of the 

 oil it consumes. Figure 11-12 portrays the patterns of international oil trade 

 that have developed to satisfy disparities in supply and demand. 



The reserves of crude oil on the Continental Shelves of the world to 

 partially meet this demand are described in general terms in Table 1 1-5. 

 The reserves in North America are considered adequate to sustain offshore 

 production for a number of years, and recent discoveries off the coasts of 

 Alaska, California, and the Gulf States suggest that additional deposits may 

 soon be located. 



Exploration of the U.S. Continental Shelf has accelerated in recent years, 

 resulting in dramatic increases in offshore oil and gas production. In 1967, 

 offshore petroleum production had doubled 1964 levels, representing 13 per- 

 cent of total domestic production and satisfying 7 percent of total domestic 

 demand. Similarly, offshore drilling is taking place throughout the world as 

 shown in Figure 11-13. In 1967, the Free World produced 0.86 billion 

 barrels of offshore crude oil, almost double the production of 1964. This 

 is slightly less than 7 percent of Free World demand. Natural gas produc- 



Tabie 11-5 — Petroleum Potential of Continental Shelves of the World 



(Areas in thousands of square miles) 



Excellent potential <: Fair potential '' 



Percent Percent 



Region Shelf Percent of Percent of 



area ' Area of total world Area of total world 



Shelf of excellent Shelf of fair Shelf 



region Shelf region area 

 area 



Total World 10,763 188 1.8 100.0 1,657 15.3 100.0 



North America 2,140 40 1.9 21.3 315 14.7 19.0 



South America 910 20 2.2 10.6 150 16.5 9.1 



Middle East, Asia 200 40 20.2 21.3 65 32.5 3.9 



East Indies Islands (includ- 

 ing Philippines) 1,350 35 2.6 18.6 305 22.6 18.4 



Iron Curtain Countries 2,718 35 1.3 18.6 385 14.2 23.2 



Other areas' 3,445 18 5.2 9.6 437 12.7 26.4 



"Adapted from Offshore Magazine. 



' Areas to depth of 1000 feet of water. 



' "Excellent Potential" rating is given to areas containing or in continuity with excellent producing areas 

 and with like geology. 



'' "Fair Potential" rating is given to areas containing or in continuity with fair producing areas, or when 

 geology is similarly favorable for commercial production. 



• Includes Europe, Africa, Far East, Oceania, and Antarctica. 



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