Globally, crude's reserves-to-production ratio has hovered between years. New oil supply has actually been rising faster than ever. From , global production increased 1.
Commercial since the s, CO2-enhanced oil recovery offers a gigantic global prize of trillion barrels and a safe way to sequester CO2 underground for 1, years.
In short, the assertion that oil and gas are not compatible with our goal to implement a more sustainable energy system is becoming increasingly false. For example, the U. The reality is that ALL energy systems are evolving, so ALL technologies must be allowed to compete in our goal to: 1 grow our economy, 2 increase our energy security, and 3 reduce GHG emissions. If not, we greatly increase the risk of not deploying the most economical and cleanest sources of energy. Demonstrated by the shale revolution, it's the emerging North American unconventional resource base that has the greatest potential.
And with advancing technologies and higher prices, even more will become available: the "unconventional" evolving into the "conventional. Proved reserves are an accounting concept that is based on known projects, and it is not an appropriate measure for judging total resource availability in the long term. Over time, global reserves will likely increase as new technologies increase production at existing fields and as new projects are developed.
Learn more: International Energy Outlook International Energy Statistics—historical world, regional, and country-level estimates of proved crude oil reserves , of petroleum and other liquids production , and of petroleum consumption. This page has no sub-navigation. Skip to page content. Does the world have enough oil to meet our future needs?
What do I pay for in a gallon of gasoline and diesel fuel? When was the last refinery built in the United States? Whilst it is, in reality, unlikely that crude oil reserves will ever be completely exhausted, that doesn't mean the quality of what remains is useable. In most reserves around the world, what remains underground tends to be poorer quality. Most of it is termed "heavy" or "sour".
This means that it is not necessarily in a liquid form and tends to be more of a bitumen. It also contains high levels of contaminants like sulfur.
Sulfur can be highly corrosive to steel which is bad news for refineries. This "heavy" oil requires complex and energy-intensive processing to remove the sulfur, which increases the cost of production overall. In essence, humanity has used up a lot of the "good stuff" from the glory days of the oil industry.
Other 'newer' potential sources like shale oil aren't that much better either. Despite the name, the term "shale oil" is somewhat misleading. This is not oil at all, in the true sense. It contains a substance called "kerogen" which tends to be solid and needs to be heated to degrees centigrade before further processing. This is to convert it to a liquid form that ostensibly resembles traditional oil. The actual Energy return on Energy Invested EROEI is so poor that there has been no serious commercial exploitation of oil shale to date, and probably there never will be.
In short by cutting our dependence on it. Whilst this might sound a little flippant it is likely to be a matter of our hand's being forced rather than a planned slow down in consumption globally. People will only be willing to pay top dollar for something, like a barrel of oil, so long as it actually does some useful work. And, more critically, that work must be more cost-effective than using another energy source.
The price of oil is likely to be capped as the relative cost of oil substitutes becomes more viable over time. Whilst, as we have seen, oil reserves are unlikely to ever be completely emptied and deeper extraction methods and exploration for new reserves will become more expensive over time.
Oil producing nations agree deal to control prices. Image source, Getty Images. Brent crude hit its highest level in three years. Fuel crisis starting to ease, Johnson says Petrol prices at eight-year high amid fuel crisis Army put on standby to ease fuel crisis. A dramatic surge in natural gas prices has made oil a relatively cheaper alternative. Bleak picture. View comments.
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