Oil

Energy Mix

32% of world 🌎 (#1 resource)
37% of US 🇺🇸 (#1 resource)

Electricity Generation

2% of world 🌎 (#7 resource)
< 1% of US 🇺🇸 (#8 resource)

Transportation Energy

91% of world 🌎
90% of US 🇺🇸

Change in Global Consumption

Virtually no change:
⬆ 0.2%
(2017-2022)

33% of world 🌎
41% of US 🇺🇸
energy GHG emissions are from oil
(includes methane leakage)

Energy GHG emissions are ~75% of global GHG emissions.

(Visit our Natural Gas page for more information on methane leakage)

Oil Use for Transportation Is a Major Contributor to Outdoor Air Pollution

Adverse health effects from vehicle exhaust include cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and reproductive, neurological, and immune system disorders. 

Particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) emissions pose the greatest risk to health. Other pollutants include carbon monoxide (CO), nitrous oxides ( NO_x), and ozone (O₃). Transport contributes 8% of global and 17% of US PM2.5 emissions. 

Vehicle electrification reduces air pollution and its health effects because most of the exposure is in highly dense urban areas with heavy traffic.

Largest Proved Reserves

Venezuela 18% 🇻🇪
of global proved reserves

Largest Producer

US 19% 🇺🇸
of global production

Largest Consumer

US 20% 🇺🇸
of global consumption

Largest Proved Reserves

Texas 41%
of US proved reserves

Largest Producer

Texas 43%
of US production

Largest Consumer

Texas 19%
of US consumption

Total Traded

73%
of global production

Largest Exporter

Saudi Arabia 17% 🇸🇦
of crude oil exports

Largest Importer

China 24% 🇨🇳
Europe 24%
of crude oil imports

Leading Refiners

US 18% 🇺🇸
China 17% 🇨🇳
of petroleum product output (gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, etc.)

Drivers

• High energy density in volume and weight of oil; easy to store and transport
• Few alternatives for transport, especially long-haul trucking, shipping, and aviation
• Established infrastructure (e.g., fuel stations, refineries, manufacturing plants) 
• Social and environmental externalities are not accounted for in price
• Corporate lobby with political influence
• Innovation in extraction drives down costs and increases available resource (horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracking)
• Global and US economies are very dependent on oil
• Desire to maintain economic and political power by exporting countries, including OPEC+

Barriers

• Many externalities: oil spills, air pollution, methane leakage, CO₂ emissions, water use and contamination, land use
• Depletable, non-renewable resource
• National security: geopolitical conditions disrupt supply and price
• Inefficient; significant losses from well to moving people
• Public health: GHG emissions, SOx, NOx, etc. impacts near wells, refineries, and pipelines; past use of leaded gasoline
• Legacy infrastructure and pollution issues with abandoned wells and closed refineries

Climate Impact: High

• Carbon dioxide is released during combustion
• Methane leaks during extraction and production

Environmental Impact: High

• Ecosystem disturbance from exploratory wells, road construction, seismic techniques of exploration during prospecting
• Significant land impacts, habitat destruction, and water contamination during extraction
• Groundwater and soil damage from improper disposal of saline water pumped from the ground and oil and gas leakages from improperly maintained wells
• High energy and water requirements for extraction and refining
• Irresponsible oil production can lead to seismicity
• Oil spills
• Air pollution from combustion (NO_x, SO₂, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds)

Updated March 2024