Oil refined products are used in the production of more than 6,000 thousand items. From gasoline and fuel oil to aspirin and lipstick, everything is made from oil.
From the components of black gold, 25 million tons of protein are produced annually, which replaces the substance of animal origin in the production of food.
The price of oil is an effective lever of political pressure and it is on it, and not on religion, politics or morality, that the question of war and peace on the planet depends. The main problem is that oil is not a renewable resource, although in the future, in millions of years, some organic matter may become it.
The global picture
According to the latest data, the world oil reserve is 1.726 trillion barrels, which will be enough at the current level of consumption for 53 years. However, one cannot say that oil is running out. The calculation uses “proven reserves”, namely the amount of carbon that can be produced at the current technological level, while making a profit.
The 53-year term is not final and subject to change. The situation can be remedied by the use of hydraulic fracturing technology, which makes it possible to extract carbon from unprofitable wells, and where traditional methods are not applicable.
Technological development also gives hope for the invention of new ways to extract useful resources with minimal impact on the environment.
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There are no “white spots” left on the planet Earth, but geologists continue to find new oil fields, which significantly change the overall picture. In the state of Texas, huge reserves of shale oil were found, amounting to 20 billion barrels. For comparison: in Alaska, the "oil piggy bank" of the United States, over the past 40 years, 12 billion barrels have been produced, and in the East Texas field, 7 billion barrels of oil have been recovered since the 1930s.
The technical imperfection of working methods, a drop in profitability, as well as a low level of investment negatively affect the development factor of black gold mining. At the same time, alternative energy sources are not able to maintain the existing level of energy supply. Do not forget that over the next few decades, the world's population will reach 10 billion people and even more oil will be needed.
How much oil is left in Russia
The explored oil reserves in Russia are 14 billion tons, which at the current level of consumption will be enough for 28 years. Extractive companies understand that the future lies in the extraction of carbon from hard-to-recover reserves and the continental shelf.
If shale oil and tar sand carbon are taken into account, then the approximate reserve of Russian oil reaches 100 billion tons, which is 31.25% of the world. From 2020, a gradual decrease in the volume of resource extraction is predicted in Russia, and the situation will be corrected by thorough geological exploration, which, due to relatively low prices for energy resources, is unprofitable for the company to the producers.
It is also important to remember about the Arctic, a significant part of which belongs to Russia. According to experts, oil and gas reserves worth up to $ 20 trillion are located on the Russian Arctic shelf, which can provide 20-30% of oil production by 2050.
Arctic oil is a strategic reserve of the planet
According to research by the US Geological Survey, there are 90 billion barrels of oil under the Arctic ice, which is 13% of all undiscovered reserves. In total, up to 400 billion barrels of hydrocarbons are hidden behind the Arctic Circle. 88% of the total volume of the resource belongs to Russia, the USA and Denmark.
The development of oil fields in difficult Arctic conditions is associated with large investments that will pay off in the long term. The period from the discovery of a new field to the start of production can be calculated in decades. So the Hebron project in Newfoundland was launched for more than 25 years, and the development of the Norwegian Goliath oil field took 16 years.
Nevertheless, analysts believe that by 2020 the volume of hydrocarbons from the Arctic will be 3% of the total, and by 2035 it will grow to 9%.
In terms of oil and gas reserves, Russia is ahead of other countries, but lags behind in terms of geological exploration and technical equipment. At the expense of oil from the Arctic shelf, Russia plans to compensate for the depletion of old fields and the drop in production of "black gold", the peak of which is planned for 2035.
Only investing in large-scale geological exploration and the production of new equipment, as well as cooperation with foreign oil companies, will help speed up the oil production process.
The modern energy market is characterized by instability and price fluctuations associated with the geopolitical struggle of the world's leading powers. Despite this, there is no full-fledged alternative to oil, and it will remain the main resource that will determine the fate of the planet for a long time to come.
