| When Saudi Arabia nationalized its oil industry in 1980, it marked the end of an era dominated by western majors such as Exxon, Chevron and BP. The proposed re-privatization of those same oilfields threatens to upend their world once again. Getting kicked out of the Middle East forced the majors to exploit other tourist traps, such as the North Sea.
Like OPEC, they assumed the value of their reserves of this finite, critical commodity would, more or less, keep rising over time. So a barrel not produced today, even if it cost a lot to find or acquire, is effectively money in the bank. This is why the majors obsess over their reserves replacement ratio, measuring how many new barrels come in to replace the ones they pump out...............................................Full Article: Source
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