Article | REF: BE8520 V2

Oil

Authors: Christine TRAVERS, Eric TOCQUÉ

Publication date: January 10, 2016

You do not have access to this resource.
Click here to request your free trial access!

Already subscribed? Log in!


Overview

Français

ABSTRACT

Today petroleum covers 32.2% of the world's primary energy demand including those for transport. Petroleum is a mixture of hydrocarbons derived from the transformation of organic matter. Oil and gas is produced through on-shore and offshore wells. The geographical zones of oil production are usually located far from those where the petroleum products are consumed. Petroleum goes by pipeline or tanker ship to refineries, where it is processed into petroleum products (fuels, lubricants, bitumen, etc.) and petrochemical intermediates. The oil industry will be facing new challenges: meeting an increasing demand for energy despite limited petroleum resources, using these resources while limiting GHG emissions, and preparing the energy transition.

Read this article from a comprehensive knowledge base, updated and supplemented with articles reviewed by scientific committees.

Read the article

AUTHORS

  • Christine TRAVERS: Director, Refining, Petrochemicals and Gas Center IFP School, Rueil Malmaison

  • Eric TOCQUÉ: Head of Energy and Processes Program IFP School, Rueil Malmaison France

 INTRODUCTION

In 2006, oil covered 34.4% of the planet's primary energy needs, coal 26.0%, natural gas 20.5%, biomass, renewables and waste 10.7%, nuclear 6.2% and hydro 2.2%. In 2014, it still covered 32.2% of needs, while renewable energies are making slow progress. Oil owes its survival to the fact that, in liquid form, it is easy to transport and store. It also has a higher energy output per volume than other energies. Oil is the raw material for refineries and petrochemical complexes. Oil is also used as a fuel for domestic heating and as an energy source for industry. 50% of crude oil is used for transport, which is 98% dependent on oil. Oil's share of the transport sector is tending to increase, while its share of electricity production has been steadily declining over the past thirty years. For these applications, other energies are now favored. These include nuclear power, natural gas and coal. The new renewable energies (solar, wind, geothermal, etc.), despite their interest, represent less than 1% of the energy consumed. Global crude oil production in 2013 stood at 4,030 million tonnes . As a result, oil remains at the forefront of the global energy and economic scene.

You do not have access to this resource.

Exclusive to subscribers. 97% yet to be discovered!

You do not have access to this resource.
Click here to request your free trial access!

Already subscribed? Log in!


The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference

A Comprehensive Knowledge Base, with over 1,200 authors and 100 scientific advisors
+ More than 10,000 articles and 1,000 how-to sheets, over 800 new or updated articles every year
From design to prototyping, right through to industrialization, the reference for securing the development of your industrial projects

KEYWORDS

transport   |   exploration   |   production   |   refining   |   petrochemistry   |   energetical transition

EDITIONS

Other editions of this article are available:


This article is included in

Energy resources and storage

This offer includes:

Knowledge Base

Updated and enriched with articles validated by our scientific committees

Services

A set of exclusive tools to complement the resources

Practical Path

Operational and didactic, to guarantee the acquisition of transversal skills

Doc & Quiz

Interactive articles with quizzes, for constructive reading

Subscribe now!

Ongoing reading
Oil