But it wasn’t until 1859, when Edwin “Colonel” Drake struck it big in Pennsylvania, that oil was sought at scale. With the same, albeit modernized drilling technique used in China more than 1,500 years earlier, Drake hit a reservoir 69.5 feet (21 meters) down, and the U.S. oil industry was born. Create a free IEA account to download our reports or subcribe to a paid service. As a Premium user you get access to the detailed source references and background information about this statistic.
- Oil demand in 2025 is set to be 2.5 mb/d lower than was forecast a year ago in our Oil 2020 report.
- The global economy and oil markets are recovering from the historic collapse in demand caused by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in 2020.
- Vehicles get more and more efficient when it comes to consuming oil, while new technology such as electric cars or hybrids can take a bite out of use as well.
- In this way, Canada’s proven reserves increased suddenly in 2003 when the oil sands of Alberta were seen to be economically viable.
World total energy supply by source
By 2023, the region still made up around 55 percent, but had lost its shares to Latin America, which benefited from oil sands discoveries in Venezuela. Globally, fossil fuels account for a much smaller share of electricity production than the energy system as a whole. High increases in proved oil reserves in Central and South America predominantly came from Venezuela, and impacted regional distribution worldwide.
Oil Market Report – November 2024
Non-OECD countries drive almost all global oil consumption growth in our forecast. Much of this growth is in Asia, where India is now the leading source of global oil demand growth in our forecast. We expect consumption how much oil is left in the world of liquid fuels in India to increase by 0.3 million b/d in both 2024 and 2025, driven by rising demand for transportation fuels. We forecast China’s petroleum and liquid fuels consumption will grow by less than 0.1 million b/d in 2024 before recovering to almost 0.3 million b/d 2025. We have revised China’s 2024 consumption downward several times over the past year.
Unproven but probable reserves: up to 249 billion barrels
The world holds around 1.57 trillion barrels in proved crude oil reserves as of 2023. Since 1960, there has been a marked increase in oil reserves, especially in the decade between 1960 and 1970. Reserves represent only some fraction of resources, however; we continue to discover new quantities of gas, and with time more becomes technologically feasible to extract. This means our quantity of reserves changes all the time – not only based on how much we consume, but by how many new resources are ‘unlocked’. Reserves represent only some fraction of resources, however; we continue to discover new quantities of coal, and with time more becomes technologically feasible to extract.
Without ships transporting goods all over Earth, “half the world would starve and the other half would freeze,” according to the International Chamber of Shipping. The problem for this industry is, you can’t just change the fuel. The rise of electric vehicles (EVs) will usher in the next big drop in oil use. “The whaling industry is a very good analogy,” David MacDonald, a professor of petroleum geology at the University of Aberdeen in the U.K., told Live Science.
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The first ferries and small ships using this technology are being tested, but large, hydrogen-fueled oceanic cargo ships are still in the design phase. Ships could be retrofitted with hydrogen fuel cells, but that strategy comes with problems. For example, to remain liquid, the fuel must be stored at extremely low temperatures. Its energy density is low, increasing the amount of storage required on each ship.
Though the rate at which they find new troves has slowed, modern tech allows for locating and tapping into hydrocarbons that were inaccessible decades ago. Though the U.S. became the top oil producer in 2018, our proven reserves didn’t crack the top five. Furthermore, the production of oil depends on demand, and the development of technology. Vehicles get more and more efficient when it comes to consuming oil, while new technology such as electric cars or hybrids can take a bite out of use as well. The fossilized organic compounds of ancient life on Earth sure do provide us with a handy way to get around.
All data and visualizations on Our World in Data rely on data sourced from one or several original data providers. And on the other side of the equation, demand for oil is likely to change in the coming years. A third wave of worldwide refinery rationalisation is currently underway.