Chris Horton, 中国瞄准南海石油天然气资源. 纽约时报中文网, Oct 29, 2014
cn.nytimes.com/china/20141029/c29chinasea/
, which is translated from
Chris Horton, Beijing Zeroes In on Energy Potential of South China Sea. International New York Times (Paris), Oct 29, 2014.
Quote:
“The United States Energy Information Administration has estimated that 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie below the seabed, including both proven and probable reserves. If those estimates prove correct, the South China Sea would be in the same league as Mexico, a midsize producer, and in the global top 10 in terms of gas.
“so far, exploration and production of oil and gas have been confined mainly to waters off the coasts of China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines, which form the sea’s perimeter along with Taiwan. The Energy Information Administration estimates that in 2011, South China Sea production by these countries amounted to 1.2 million barrels a day of oil and 3,200 billion cubic feet of natural gas. These numbers are roughly similar to the current crude production of North Dakota and to Saudi Arabia’s annual gas production in 2012.
Note:
(a) Take notice of oil and gas are categorized separately, twice, in quotation 2.
(b) list of countries by natural gas production
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_natural_gas_production
((International Energy Agency places Saudi Arabia ninth in 2013, and CIA World Factbook 2014 ranks the same country also ninth [“2012 est”])