The World Runs on Oil
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By W. H. Goddard
M.Inst.Pet.
Survey of Consumption and Resources of a Commodity which Plays a Vast Part inWorld Affairs OCCASIONALLY, and generally casually, one hears the expression: "The world runs on oil." It most certainly does. It is true to say that directly or indirectly, the existence of most of the civilized population of the world requires the use of mineral petroleum in one forth or another, and vast numbers of peopie depend entirely on oil or oil products for their living. From the great transport concerns which use thousands of gallons every month, to the housewife who requires vaseline or liquid paraffin for the family, oil in some form is required by everyone.
Even if we were obliged to revert to steam tra!nsport, there would stillbe the imperative need for oil for the lubrication of every lorry, car, locomotive and machine in the world, which could never be supplied by animal fats or grease. We are definitely dependent on oil, and if the underground supplies of petroleum give out, our only remedies are shale oil—which would result in a tremendous increase in prices, although it. would almost„ certainly enable us to carry on for a fairly long period—and coal• oil. We may, perhaps, take some consolation from a statement made some years ago by a very eminent petroleum geologist, who said : " It is probable that science is applied to a greater extent in the petroleum industry than in the case of any other industry."
How Long Will World Oil Reserves Last?
It is, however, more than curious to note, even in the motor industry, how few people appear to take a genuine interest in oil except when in need of oil or petrol for their car'S or lorries. They take it for granted _that oil in abundance will always be available as and when required, but they do not appreciate the very important fact thatthis apparent abundance is not, for example, like our huge coal resources,which guarantee us ample supplies for hundreds of years to come.
It may surprise many people to know that only as recently as 1933 a wellknown American authority gave it as his opinion that the proved oil reserves of the work' (i.e., the oil that yet remains underground in the producing fields and their logical extensioW) would last for about 171 years at the rate of consumption at that date. Fortunately, since then, many things have happened which enable us to be somewhat more optimistic, otherwise, according to that prediction, we have only another eight years to go before the world would have to run on something else. One can safely prophesy that_in that case, the motor industry would really take a genuine interest in the subject, but' it would he too late.
Since the above-mentioned statement, vast new, but quite unexpected, oilfields have been _discovered,• enormous strides have been made in oil-drilling methods and machinery, and in the scientific methods applied to oil prospecting and field location, i.e., geology, geophysical methods of subsurface structural mapping and; latterly, geo-chemical surveying (soil analysis). All this has led to much greater efficiency in the winning of oil and to large increases in the petroleum resources made available. We cannot, however, afford even now to be careless 'and waste oil, because the enormous increase in demand is almost abreast of the greatly increased production, 'and it is our duty to conserve our oil resources and avoid waste. The danger of our oil supplies coming to an end is always present.
Oil is produced in no fewer than 22 countries, the principal producer being the U.S.A., with approximately 62 per cent, of the total world production, which, in 1940, was (partly estimated) at no less than 292,500,000 metric tons. To enable the reader to appreciate what an enormous amount of oil this is, it would fill a two-mile square tank to a depth of 103 ft. In gallons it comes to some 71,662,000,000. Russia comes second on the list `of producers with 29,800,000 metric tons, and Venezuela .third with 27,430,000 metric tons.
Only a few years ago about 3,000 to 4,000 ft. was the limit of drilling depth, whilst to-day there are over 50 wells with a depth of at least 10,000 ft. and one which reaches down to no less than 13,180 ft. (about 21 miles). Test wells have been drilled even deeper. In 1940, in the U.S.A., 30,404 were drilled, resulting in 21,103 oil well's and 2,404 giving gas,. whilst 6,533 proved to be dry. The average depth of all the wells drilled was 3,017 ft.
If we bear in mind that the first well was drilled only in 1859, and that in 1860 the world production 'was merely 500,000 barrels (17,500,000 gallons), we get some idea of the enormous increase in world consumption of oil products. During the past 10 years alone it has increased by some 34 per cent. What the figure will be in 10 years is alarming to contemplate„ but, to employ an expression frequently heard . to-day : " We have been warned."
Home Consumption of Petrol
Consumption. of all oil products is rapidly increasing all over the world, and, to give a clear impression of 'only small part of this increase, the figures relating to our home consumption of motor spirit for the three -years,1936-7-8, are given. Such statistics are not published during war-time. The quantities include: (1) Imported motor spirit, (2) U.K. production from imported crude oil and oil shale, (3) motor spirit derived from coal and ben role:—
1936 ... 1,335,000,000 galls. 1937 ... 1,458,000,000 galls.
1938 ... .1,568,000,000 galls.
Thus we see that in only two years the increase in the ,consumption of motor spirit in the United Kingdom has been no less than 183,000,000 gallons or about 12 per cent.
In 1938 there were 2,650,000. motor vehicles, in this country. In the same. year there were some 30,000,000 in the U.S.A. These figureswill enible us to gather an. idea of what the oil-. fields mast produce if we are to keep the world running on oil and its products.
The statistical data. given in this article are Irony the " Ann,m1 eviews of Petroleum Technology, Volume 6, published by the Institute of Petroleum, Birmingham, England,