The publication of the latest Water Security Risk Index from Maplecroft has shown that many oil producing countries are rated ‘extreme risk’ when it comes to the stability of their water supplies.
The Water Security Risk Index is an annual report produced by Maplecroft that measures the future stability of water supplies across 162 countries and this year, six OPEC countries: Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Libya were rated ‘extreme risk’, while Iran and Qatar were rated ‘high risk’.
The danger is that disruption to water supplies could, in turn, lead to higher oil prices, as high volumes of water are needed in the oil production process. Huge quantities of ‘lift water’ are often used to force oil from wells with insufficient geological pressure to bring the oil to the surface. If sufficient water is unavailable, then this could result in interruptions in production, oil shortages and inevitable hikes in the cost of a barrel of oil. Read more
Loading ...