Global consumption of oil is currently estimated at roughly 96.5 million barrels per day. According to OPEC, global demand is expected to reach 109 million barrels per day. Estimations vary slightly, but it is predicted that - if demand forecasts hold - we will run out of oil from known reserves in about 47 years.
World Oil Reserves
The world has proven reserves equivalent to 46.6 times its annual consumption levels. This means it has about 47 years of oil left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves).
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) International Energy Outlook 2021 (IEO2021), the global supply of crude oil, other liquid hydrocarbons, and biofuels is expected to be adequate to meet the world's demand for liquid fuels through 2050.
Without oil, cars may become a relic of the past. Streets may turn into public community centers and green spaces filled with pedestrians. Bike use might increase as more people ride to school or work. The Earth will begin to heal from over a century of human-caused climate change.
With demand predominately driven by the transport sector, our oil reserves are running out faster than our other fossil fuels. In fact, if we don't find any additional oil reserves, it's estimated that our known oil deposits will be gone by 2052.
Australia has proven reserves equivalent to 2.9 times its annual consumption. This means that, without imports, there would be about 3 years of oil left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves).
Australia is a net importer of oil and imports a large proportion of its refinery feedstocks. Most of Australia's oil is produced on the North West Shelf, some distance from domestic east coast refining capacity.
The natural process that takes a few million years to happen will only take minutes now, thanks to science! Engineers at the US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have created a process that produces crude oil minutes after harvested algae are introduced.
Changes in consumer patterns and the emergence of new technology driven by increases in the price of oil will prevent the oil supply from ever physically running out.
Oil Reserves in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has proven reserves equivalent to 221.2 times its annual consumption. This means that, without Net Exports, there would be about 221 years of oil left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves).
While our planet as a whole may never run out of water, it's important to remember that clean freshwater is not always available where and when humans need it. In fact, half of the world's freshwater can be found in only six countries. More than a billion people live without enough safe, clean water.
Oil Reserves FAQ
Venezuela is currently the country with the largest proven oil reserves in the world, with an estimated 300 billion barrels of oil.
According to U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves, Year-end 2021, as of December 30, 2021, U.S. total natural gas proved reserves—estimated as wet gas (which includes hydrocarbon gas liquids [HGLs])—totaled about 625.4 trillion cubic feet (Tcf).
Venezuela has the largest amount of oil reserves in the world with more than 300 billion barrels in reserve.
In 2022, the United States consumed an average of about 20.28 million barrels of petroleum per day, or a total of about 7.4 billion barrels of petroleum. Learn more: How much of the crude oil produced in the United States is consumed in the United States?
At the current rates of production, oil will run out in 53 years, natural gas in 54 years, and coal in 110 years, according to estimates from the 2015 World Energy Outlook study by the International Energy Agency.
Despite the many major extinctions that have occurred throughout Earth's long history, not every fossilized life form has been transformed into petroleum, coal, or natural gas. All of those fossil fuels are nonrenewable and irreplaceable, so when they're gone or burnt off, we have nothing to replace them.
Oil from younger rocks contains compounds linked to flowering plants, but oil from older rocks formed before flowering plants existed contains only more primitive organic compounds. “If you buy the theory, it says you will never run out of oil; there is an infinite supply, and don't worry about anything,” says Katz.
When a car mysteriously loses oil, there are usually two possible causes: either you've sprung a leak, or your engine is burning it away. Though you may not see any visible signs of leakage, less noticeable parts like a worn seal or leaky rings may be the culprit.
Crude oil is formed from the remains of dead organisms (diatoms) such as algae and zooplankton that existed millions of years ago in a marine environment. These organisms were the dominant forms of life on earth at the time. FYI: Dinosaurs weren't around at this stage.
No, we cannot create petroleum in the laboratory since petroleum is also known as fossil fuel. Petroleum is a yellowish-black liquid that occurs spontaneously. It can be found in geological formations beneath the Earth's surface. It can be processed into a variety of fuels.
Synthetic oil is a man-made lubricant that consists of artificially made chemical compounds. Synthetic oils are typically created from chemically modified materials such as petroleum components, but the base material is almost always distilled crude oil.
A growing gap between domestic consumption and production has made Australia's dependence on oil imports increase. Therefore, despite having its own oil reserves and exporting some petroleum liquids, Australia is a net importer of crude oil and refined petroleum products.
“We currently produce per day an estimate of 350,000 barrels per day. We use about a million, so there's a shortfall of two-thirds,” he said. “There's an estimate that Australia has known reserves – so there could be stuff we don't know about – of about a billion barrels, which is about a thousand days' worth.
Australia is almost entirely reliant on overseas imports for its fuel. Although we do produce some crude oil here, around 350 barrels a day at last count, much of this is exported. Around 90% of what Australian refineries use to convert crude oil into petrol, diesel, LPG and other fuels is imported.