01 How It Works
Crude oil extracted from reservoirs is refined into products: gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, and petrochemical feedstocks. Internal combustion engines (ICE) burn these fuels to power vehicles and machinery. Oil is also used in power plants (less common), and in fertilizers, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and countless other products. Offshore and shale (tight oil) extraction have expanded supply dramatically since the 1990s.
02 Pros & Cons
โ Advantages
- Extremely energy-dense
- Easy to store and transport
- Versatile (transport, chemicals)
- Established infrastructure
โ ๏ธ Disadvantages
- Major COโ contributor
- Price volatility / geopolitics
- Oil spill risk
- Finite resource
03 Future Outlook
Electric vehicles are rapidly displacing oil in passenger transport. However, aviation, shipping, and petrochemicals remain difficult to decarbonize. Peak oil demand is now widely forecast in the mid-2020s to 2030s. Synthetic fuels (e-fuels) made from green hydrogen and captured COโ may eventually replace oil in some applications.
04 Fun Fact
More plastic is produced annually from oil than the total weight of all humans on Earth combined.