Oil and Gas Industry
The oil and gas industry has been around for nearly 150 years now and is still growing. From its earliest beginnings as a 15 barrel per day will drilled in 1859, the production of the refineries is never ceasing with a demand for 75 million barrels of oil per day just to meet the existing usage. At this point in history, the production of oil is just barely keeping up with the demand. Nor is their much likelihood of enough additional sources of supply in the oil and gas industry to stave off the inevitable disaster.
The oil and gas industry has outgrown any national boundaries and continues to grow. The only entity which has the funds to continue to explore and develop projects such as the North Sea site is a government. Even then, many conservationists and environmentalists object to the danger to land, water and wildlife which the oil and gas industry threatens.
The potential for alternatives to the oil and gas industry at this time are fairly bleak. The exploration of wind, water and solar power as alternatives to oil and gas is attractive, yet so far has not kept pace with the demand for power.
In addition to fuel to run our automobiles, planes, buses and trains, byproducts of the oil and gas industry are in every phase of our lives from food to cosmetics. While the highly industrialized countries have always relied upon cheap and plentiful supplies oil and gas, the newly developing countries now rely on the products of the oil and gas industry as well. China and Korea are acquiring and stockpiling the resources which their developing economy requires.
Predictions of the timing of the inevitable end of the world's supply of oil and gas range from 40 years in the future maximum to as near as 3 years from the present. No one knows what role the oil and gas industry will play in a world where there is not enough oil and gas, but at least the industry is making some effort to explore alternate energy sources.
The United States is not the only player in the game. In other countries the flow of oil has created and destroyed leaders and entire governments. The wealth of many of the Middle Eastern countries is built on the oil and gas industry, although the government and industry are nearly synonymous in those locations. In the Orinoco region of Venezuela, a rich supply of oil sands lies but may not be fully developed due to the political unrest in the region which is directly tied to the question of who will control the wealth the extraction will bring.
The petroleum products industry, while never larger or more important to the economy of the United States and the world may also be the catalyst toward a very different type of society, even perhaps a type of attempt at world government. The economic basis is already in place. The demand of a society reliant on petroleum products of may very well be the factor that will tip the scales.
The oil and gas industry has outgrown any national boundaries and continues to grow. The only entity which has the funds to continue to explore and develop projects such as the North Sea site is a government. Even then, many conservationists and environmentalists object to the danger to land, water and wildlife which the oil and gas industry threatens.
The potential for alternatives to the oil and gas industry at this time are fairly bleak. The exploration of wind, water and solar power as alternatives to oil and gas is attractive, yet so far has not kept pace with the demand for power.
In addition to fuel to run our automobiles, planes, buses and trains, byproducts of the oil and gas industry are in every phase of our lives from food to cosmetics. While the highly industrialized countries have always relied upon cheap and plentiful supplies oil and gas, the newly developing countries now rely on the products of the oil and gas industry as well. China and Korea are acquiring and stockpiling the resources which their developing economy requires.
Predictions of the timing of the inevitable end of the world's supply of oil and gas range from 40 years in the future maximum to as near as 3 years from the present. No one knows what role the oil and gas industry will play in a world where there is not enough oil and gas, but at least the industry is making some effort to explore alternate energy sources.
The United States is not the only player in the game. In other countries the flow of oil has created and destroyed leaders and entire governments. The wealth of many of the Middle Eastern countries is built on the oil and gas industry, although the government and industry are nearly synonymous in those locations. In the Orinoco region of Venezuela, a rich supply of oil sands lies but may not be fully developed due to the political unrest in the region which is directly tied to the question of who will control the wealth the extraction will bring.
The petroleum products industry, while never larger or more important to the economy of the United States and the world may also be the catalyst toward a very different type of society, even perhaps a type of attempt at world government. The economic basis is already in place. The demand of a society reliant on petroleum products of may very well be the factor that will tip the scales.
