What would happen if the world ran out of oil?

Crude oil is the lifeblood of modern economies and nations, but what would happen if this vital source of fuel were depleted?

Needless to say, it would be a pretty serious event. But is it a realistic scenario for the future?

Let's find out.

What will happen if we run out of oil and oil?

If this ever happened, and our current logistics infrastructure would not have responded in time, this could be a very serious problem. The human race is a global civilization and depends to a large extent on an abundant supply of crude oil.

Between 1965 and 2005, humanity has seen an increase in demand for crude oil in approximately two and a half times. We are using double the carbon and three times more natural gas.

Currently, crude oil constitutes around 33% of the world's energy needs. Coal is around 30% and natural gas ranks third with around 24%. That totals around 87% of the global human energy needs.

As you can see, if these supplies were significantly disturbed, it would be a big shock to the system, to say the least.

Oil, in particular, is an interesting and unique substance. It has a high energy content and is easily refined in liquid fuels through distillation.

Its distillation products, such as oil and diesel, are run in practically all modes of transport around the world. Oil and other fossil fuels are also vital for the production of electricity.

We literally depend on them for almost everything. Food, materials, clothing, computers, mobile phones, pharmaceuticals, etc., either directly or indirectly, require crude oil and other fossil fuels for the parts of their production or transportation.

Other resources, such as natural gas, are also important for making some fertilizers. Without that, food production would be directly affected throughout the world.

Continuing with agriculture for a moment longer, most of the larger equipment and machinery on a farm, such as tractors and combine harvesters, work with petroleum derivatives and fuel. Airplanes, trains and automobiles are also essential to move food around the world.

Therefore, the loss of these resources would have a profound and devastating effect on human civilization.

How long will it be until the world runs out of oil?

We are constantly bombarded with news that the world's oil is running out in the next 5, 10 or 20 years, but is it really true?

Technically speaking, it is actually unlikely that we will ever "run out" of oil. But this is not because there is an infinite supply of black things buried around the world.

Petroleum. and all other fossil fuels are finite resources by their very nature, but as oil deposits run out, other, more complicated deposits become economically viable.

The deepest reservoirs and other more technically challenging reservoirs are more expensive to exploit, but as long as there is an oil demand worth going for. This is, in part, the reason for the increase in the average price of oil over time.

According to the British Petroleum World Energy Statistical Review, we should have enough to last until about 2070.

But it should be borne in mind that estimates of oil reserve volumes are notoriously difficult to calculate, are not audited externally or are not completely true.

It is also important to understand what is meant by an oil reserve. U.S.G.S defines an oil reserve as:

"amounts of crude oil in discovered accumulations that can be extracted legally, technically and economically".

In this sense, oil reserves depend entirely on the discovery of new reserves, as well as the development and availability of technologies to exploit them. They must also be legal to extract.

This is partly the reason why, although oil extraction rates generally increase over time, oil reserves have also increased over time.

But, and take it with a pinch of salt, according to the BP report, as of 2018, they think we have about 50 years left for the current levels of consumption and production.

Silly black gold

While it is actually unlikely that crude oil reserves will be completely exhausted, that does not mean that the quality of what is left is usable.

In most reserves around the world, what remains underground tends to be of lower quality. Most of it is called "heavy" or "sour".

This means that it is not necessarily in liquid form and tends to be more of a bitumen. It also contains high levels of pollutants such as sulfur.

How can we stop running out of crude oil and oil?

In short but cutting our dependence on it. While this may sound a bit frivolous, it is probably a matter of our hand being forced instead of a planned slowdown in global consumption.

People will only be willing to pay a dollar for something, like a barrel of oil, as long as they really do some useful work. And, more importantly, that work must be more profitable than using another source of energy.

The price of oil is likely to be limited as the relative cost of oil substitutes becomes more viable over time. While, as we have seen, it is unlikely that oil reserves will be completely emptied and that deeper extraction and exploration methods for new reserves will become more expensive over time.

In this sense, as oil begins to have a restrictive cost in the future, consumers will begin to look for alternatives. Or if a reliable or realistic alternative can not be found, methods to use current resources more efficiently will be explored.