Energy reserves. [Summary of reserve estimates and economic supply models for exhaustible resources]

There is an increasing concern about scarcity of the world's remaining natural energy resources and, in particular, the future supply of oil and natural gas. This paper summarizes recent estimates of energy reserves and economic supply models for exhaustible resources. The basic economic theory of resource exhaustion is reviewed, and recent estimates of both discovered and undiscovered energy resources are presented and compared. Domestic and world-wide reserve estimates are presented for crude oil and natural gas liquids, natural gas, coal, and uranium. Economic models projecting supply of these energy forms, given reserve estimates and other pertinent information, are discussed. Finally, a set of recent models which project world oil prices are summarized and their published results compared. The impact of energy conservation efforts on energy supply is also briefly discussed. 53 references.