Oil is often called the black gold of our time. Oil reserves across countries are distributed extremely unevenly. However, absolutely everybody needs this fuel today.
Oil - Mineral No. 1
The word petroleum, which means oil in many languages, has two roots. One of them, "petra" is Latin, and translates as "stone". The second, "oleum" is Greek, and is translated as "oil". Thus, literally, oil is "rock oil" (that is, oil extracted from the earth).
It is known that oil was actively used in Ancient India (in construction), in Babylon (for embalming the bodies of the dead), in Ancient Greece (as fuel). Since the first decades of the twentieth century, it has become the main energy resource on the planet.
So what is oil? This is an oily liquid of natural origin, which consists of a combination of different hydrocarbons. The color of this substance can be different: from saturated black to yellowish and even green. The smell of oil is specific and, as a rule, unpleasant, due to its chemical composition.
Oil reserves are distributed very unevenly across countries. Basically, its largest deposits are confined to zones with a thick cover of sedimentary rocks.
The countries with the largest oil reserves (per capita) are Qatar, Kuwait, Turkmenistan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Libya. By the way, if you recalculate the total oil reserves of Qatar in monetary terms, it turns out that for every citizen of this country there are about 6 billion dollars!
The use of oil in the modern world
Crude oil is practically not used. To obtain technically valuable products (gasoline, solvents, etc.), it must be processed at special plants.
In addition to the fact that oil is a very valuable energy resource, it is also used for the production of plastics, various plasticizers and additives, dyes, and synthetic rubber.
Oil is a resource that has a number of advantages. Firstly, she has very high energy density indicators. Secondly, oil is fairly easily transported over long distances (this is done using pipelines or tankers - huge sea vessels). Thirdly, a wide range of different products can be produced from it. All these aspects make oil one of the most sought-after products on the world market.
Nevertheless, the reserves of this mineral are quickly depleted. That is why some countries with significant oil reserves (in particular the United States) have begun to look for alternative energy sources (oil shale, biofuels and the like).
Features of modern oil production
Until about the mid-70s, oil in the world was extracted at a frantic pace. So, if in 1970 about 2 billion tons of this energy resource was extracted from the bowels of the earth, then in 1973 - already 2.8 billion tons. In the early 80s, world oil production declined slightly.
Oil production on an industrial scale began in the middle of the XIX century. Over all this time, over forty billion tons of this resource have been "pumped out" of the earth.
Leading countries in oil reserves
Now we will examine in more detail the geography of distribution of this valuable energy resource.
Oil reserves vary widely across countries. So, some states are completely deprived of this wealth, while others are literally bathed in black gold. The top ten countries in terms of total oil reserves are as follows (see table).
Table: Total oil reserves by country| A country | Total oil reserves (in billions of barrels) |
| Venezuela | 296 |
| Saudi Arabia | 265 |
| Canada | 175 |
| Iran | 150 |
| Iraq | 144 |
| Mexico | 139 |
| Kuwait | 104 |
| UAE | 98 |
| Russia | 75 |
| Libya | 47 |
As for oil production, the following countries are leaders here:
- Saudi Arabia.
- Russia.
- USA.
- Iran.
- China.
Taking into account two indicators - total oil reserves and annual oil production, one can easily calculate how many years this energy source will last for each country.
So, Venezuela should be the least worried - it will have enough oil (at today's production rates) for another 235 years. But countries like Russia, the USA, Canada, Qatar have something to think about. In particular, the United States will have enough oil reserves for only 11 years, Russia for 22 years, Canada for 26, and Qatar for 45.
Oil prices: expert forecasts
To date, the price of one barrel of Brent crude has fixed at around $ 64, WTI - $ 61.
Oil prices (like any other product on the world market) are determined based on the ratio of supply and demand for it. Today, the supply for this energy resource still exceeds demand. In addition, other factors influence pricing in this case (let's call them political). We are talking about military conflicts in Libya and Yemen, as well as the deployment of US shale projects.
Many economic experts predict that in the next two months, oil will rise in price to $ 70, but after that, the price of this resource will begin to fall again.
In the third quarter of 2015, as analysts predict, the price of oil can grope for its new bottom, reaching $ 50 per barrel.
Finally...
Oil is the most important energy resource of our time. Leading countries for oil reserves (total) are Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Iran, Iraq, Mexico. However, scientists warn: at the current pace of oil production, this resource in most countries of the world will last only 40-80 years. That is why already now some states have begun to think about alternative energy sources.