The
Oil industry brings to market what is currently considered the lifeblood of nearly all other
industry, if not industrialized
civilization itself. Oil accounts for 40 % of the
United States' energy supply and a comparable percentage of the world’s energy supply. The US currently consumes 7.5 billion
barrels (1.2 km³) of oil per year, while the world consumes 30 billion barrels (4.8 km³) per year. The U.S., and most of the world, are net importers of the resource.
Infrastructure
The Industry can be divided into two broad themes:
Upstream producers and
Downstream transporters (
tanker,
Pipeline transport),
refiners, retailers, and consumers.
Oil companies are generally categorized as
"majors and
"independents".
Most work in the
oil field or on an
oil well (upstream) is contracted out to drilling contractors and oil field service companies and the service personnel work under the watchful gaze of the client oil company, which may be a "major" or an "independent".
Impact
Petroleum is one of the non renewable natural resources and the industry is faced with the spectre of the possible eventual future depletion and exhaustion of the worlds oil supply. It is widely believed that
oil exploration alone will not stave off future shortages of the resource if global
future energy development fails to take this into account. The
Hubbert peak theory, also known as peak oil, is an influential theory concerning the long-term rate of conventional oil production and depletion.
See Also
Category:Petroleum