solar EOR can be done more cost effectively than using gas, even as current depressed prices. Steam represents as much as 60 percent of the production cost for heavily oil extraction. In addition to being cost competitive with gas, solar EOR provides a hedge against long-term gas price escalation. Long-term price projections put natural gas at $5.00 per thousand cubic feet, considerably higher than the 2011 forecast of $3.75 per thousand cubic feet. When an oil producer invests in a solar EOR system, all costs are upfront and the standard life of the equipment is 30 years. United States California is a promising geography for solar EOR with its high level of sunshine and vast heavy oil reserves. Currently, 40 percent of California's oil production deploys steam injection for EOR and in a few years will grow to 60 percent. Together five heavy oil producers – Chevron, Aera Energy, Berry Petroleum, Plains and Occidental – consume about 283 Bcf of gas annually. This equals 1.3 percent of total demand in the United States. However, analysts say that solar EOR could replace 20 percent of the natural gas used for EOR in California. Middle East The Persian Gulf has exceptionally favorable insolation, which in some locations exceeds levels in the Mojave Desert, which is a factor in making solar EOR very promising there. The other factor is less obvious but even more important: with the exception of Qatar, Persian Gulf countries are short of natural gas and actually have to import gas. The limited natural gas supplies is made worse by growing local economies that require natural gas for desalination, electricity and other industrial uses. By using solar, instead of gas, to generate steam for EOR, Middle Eastern companies can extend their domestic natural gas supplies to higher value uses. This is especially relevant for Oman, which is aggressively pursuing EOR – for example at the Mukhaizna field, which is operated by Occidental Petroleum. Oman built a natural gas export terminal, but since its oil production peaked in 2000, the country redirected the gas for used in its EOR operations. The scarcity of gas in Oman means the price there is around $10 per thousand cubic feet. Oman currently uses a significant amount of its natural gas for EOR. A report published by Ernst & Young in January 2014 found that full-scale deployment of solar EOR in Oman, in which solar