Scientists and environmentalists have been searching for an alternative fuel that can run cars for a long time now. At the same time, it should not be heavy on the budget. Some feel that the best option available in lieu crude oil. (Source 1) (Source 8)
If an alternative of crude oil is found then the transition will cost a lot. Manufactures will have to change their cars and the cars out there will need modification. Power plants will go through a huge change, all this will cost everyone money. The countries with more oil tend to sell it to countries that need oil (Countries that have high a high consumption rate).Countries that are producing more crude oil than consuming has been selling the oil to countries that are consuming more than producing, these countries that are buying this the value of the currency in that country decreases.
Oil reserves are the quantities of crude oil estimated to be commercially recoverable by application of development projects to known accumulations from a given date forward under defined conditions.
The total estimated amount of oil in an , including both producible and non-producible oil, is called . However, because of and limitations in , only a fraction of this oil can be brought to the surface, and it is only this producible fraction that is considered to be reserves. The ratio of producible oil reserves to total oil in place for a given field is often referred to as the recovery factor. (Source 1)
The demand for crude oil is extremely high and increasing along with the cost because supplies are being used up making the oil more valuable. The graph on the next page shows how the prices of oil have been affected over 60 years. The graph also shows evidence that the price is influenced by demand. The prices sky-rocket whenever there is conflict and has sunk down during the financial crisis.
(Source 3)
(Source 10)
Number of Proven reserves increased in South & Central America, Europe & Eurasia, Middle East and Africa. The only areas that decreased or stayed similar are North America and Asia & pacific. The reason why some areas increased in proven reserves of crude oil is because they spent money on research and more money in converting the ultimate reserves into proven reserves. The proven reserves of crude oil increased in: south & central America by 63%, in Europe & Eurasia by 89%, middle east by 33%, Africa by 100% and Asia & pacific by 2.5%. It decreased in North America by 32%. (Source 10)
(Source 10)
This table shows that there are many countries which have a higher consumption than production. The countries that have more oil than they need are selling to the countries that need it as their consumption is more. I would say that Middle East is the area that is produces a lot and consume a little so they are making the most money. Hence North America and other MEDCs are losing money as they need to import the oil. The final thing you can spot from this table is that the consumption of crude oil in the world is more than the world is producing. This is shown in the years 2006 and 2007. Since this table is missing 2 more years of data, we do not know if the consumption has decreased or increased.
Crude oil has to be transported from country to country, what happens if an oil tanker spills the oil into the sea; Animals will suffer, they will die as the ocean will be contaminated by oil. Oil spills can happen due to faulty equipment or even a storm can cause the tanker to flip over, spilling all the oil. More storms are being produced due to climate change and this climate change is down to the products of crude oil e.g. gasoline/petrol. Overall crude oil causes pollution in one way or another. (Source 7)
MEDCs (more economically developed countries) use of crude oil is extremely high, even though the price of crude oil has risen over the years, this is maybe because the demand has increased and the fact that crude oil is running out. As I have mentioned before about the alternatives, these could be used in replacement however this will be very difficult to actually put this idea in action. At present we are too reliant in crude oil, thus banning the use of crude oil will affect us globally and may cause many problems, and however reducing the use of crude oil is better prospective as we will be saving stocks for future use as well as not harming the environment. (Source 7) (Source 5)
From the map below it clearly shows MEDCS are producing most the crude oil, these countries are very wealthy, and hence they should be able to use an alternative. However most these are rich because of crude oil, so it will be very difficult to persuade them not to. With stocks of crude oil in very little amount and falling every day, many people argue the use of crude oil could be used for better reasons. If we keep continuing to use crude oil as we are at present there will be none for future and our children and even grand children will suffer dramatically.
Crude oil plays a huge impact on our lives socially, economically and environmentally. Environmental issues concerning the depletion of fossil fuel resources and climate change have sparked consumer demand for “greener” fuel alternatives and put additional stress on oil companies to revamp their traditional diesel and petrol offerings. Another substantial environmental issue pertaining to the crude oil industry is climate change. The burning and processing of crude oil are believed to contribute to global warming due to their emissions of CO2 gases into the atmosphere. (Source 5)
With the world population increasing steadily, demand for crude oil and energy products will only be maintained or augmented. In light of issues including fossil fuel depletion, climate harm, and escalating oil prices, there has been a political and consumer push for more environmentally friendly, less expensive alternatives to crude oil. The reduction of crude oil will affect us globally, oil companies will close down as a result of this, and therefore thousands of people will be unemployed. Many places which promote things regarding crude oil such as petrol stations will also be closed down due to people using alternate resources.
In conclusion I think we are making the best use of crude oil, as fuel is needed for everything important and other substances can be made from other alternative sources. I strongly believe that some money should be invested for further research into an alternative source of energy as crude oil is very harmful to our environment. And we rely on crude oil for many things and this non-renewable fuel is running out fast, so what will happen when it eventually runs out? If you look at the tables they show they show we are low on proven reserves hence the price of crude oil is raising significantly, so unless an alternative is found soon, it will affect the economy, environment and raise social issues. The economy will be impacted as the prices of fuel will rise and the countries with the most crude oil will be rich. Countries which do not have a lot of crude oil will lose a lot of money as it will have to import it from other countries. Social problems such as wars will begin over the last few drops of crude oil. The environment is also facing many problems because of pollutants released from fuels such as crude oil. So after judgment relating to every source and information I have collected, I have come to the conclusion that we are making the best use of crude oil; we are making fuels from it as there is nothing to replace it the need of energy. But I think we should fund research on alternative sources of fuel so that we can stop with crude oil as its damaging the environment and will cause social issues.
References
Source 1: This is the most reliable source in my essay as it only states facts and is not bias at all.
Source 2: Secondly this source is also good as it gives many points regarding crude oil and many people have commented all good feedback; however this is bias as it favours nature.
Source 3: the statistics in this table are very reliable as I have searched on the writers and they are very well educated and are specialists in regarding crude oil.
Source 4: This source is global and therefore doesn’t favour any countries so it is quite reliable.
Source 5: This is the most unreliable source as it favours finance thus they will be in favour of crude oil. Surprisingly there are issues which are against in crude oil.
Source 6: http://www.natural-environment.com/blog/2008/03/06/uses-of-crude-oil/-this source valid as it was posted in 2008 but the reliability can be questioned as it is a site which is trying to achieve a natural environment, they could be exaggerating or telling the truth, so I will not trust this source to full extent.
Source 7: http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215471/oil_spills.htm- this source is not valid as it is older than 5 years it was created in 2002. I have used it since no facts are given just information which cannot change overtime. The source is reliable as it the site’s source is BBC which is reliable.
Source 8: http://www.petrochemistry.net/from-crude-oil-to-petrochemicals.html-this source is definitely valid as it was updated in 2010. The reliability is good as it is a site that is associated with Europe’s petrochemical producers.
Source 9:http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/crudefacts.shtml-this source is not valid as it is from the year 2002, but I have used it since no facts are mentioned and normal information cannot drastically change. This is definitely reliable as it is from our national news source BBC.
Source 10: Stimulus material- this source is my most reliable as its from OCR, it is valid but to make sure I had done extra research to check and back up their data.
