Page 39 - Introduction to Petroleum Engineering

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THE FUTURE OF ENERGY

The global energy mix is in a period of transition from fossil fuels to more sustainable
energy sources. Recognition that oil and gas are nonrenewable resources, increasing
demand for energy, concerns about the security of oil and gas supply, and possibility
of anthropogenic climate change are among the factors that are motivating changes
to the global energy mix. In this chapter, we describe the global distribution of oil and
gas production and consumption, introduce M. King Hubbert’s concept of peak oil,
and discuss the role oil and gas will play in the future energy mix.

2.1 GLOBAL OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION

The global distribution of oil and gas production and consumption is illustrated by
presenting the leading nations in production and consumption categories. Lists of top
producing and consuming nations change from year to year. For example, Figure 2.1
shows the five countries with the largest production of oil in 2014. The United States
was the top producer in the 1980s, while production in Saudi Arabia was relatively
low. By the 1990s, Saudi Arabia replaced the United States as the top producing
country. The development of techniques for economically producing hydrocarbons
from shale, which is rock with very low permeability, made it possible for the United
States to become the top producing country in the 2010s.

Introduction to Petroleum Engineering, First Edition. John R. Fanchi and Richard L. Christiansen.
© 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Companion website: www.wiley.com/go/Fanchi/IntroPetroleumEngineering