Dear Mr. T. Boone Pickens

World oil supplies won't exceed 85 million barrels a day because of high depletion rates of existing wells, Pickens, the founder and chairman of Dallas-based BP Capital LLC, said yesterday in a speech at Georgetown University. "There is only 85 million barrels of oil globally in the market coming a day and I don't think you can increase that 85 million," Pickens said. (April 2008)


World oil supply rose to 86.6 million b/d in May, up nearly 500,000 b/d from April's 86.11 million b/d as production rose from OPEC, China and the former Soviet Union, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday. OPEC raised its crude supply to 32.31 million b/d last month, up from 31.91 million b/d in April, the IEA said in its latest monthly oil market report. (June 2008)