The costs associated with the extraction of a mineral reserve from a producing property or the cost to bring a barrel of oil to the surface. In Saudi Arabia the lifting cost is $2 per barrel of oil. In 2006, the average cost in Africa was $4 per barrel, in the U.S. $6.83, in Canada $8.30. There are also “finding costs” for exploration and development of oil fields – about $5.26 per barrel in the Middle East to as much as $63.71 for U.S. offshore oil. Add to that taxes, transportation and refining costs.