Crude oil

Liquid energy for nearly all transport and the feedstock of plastics: the commodity whose price moves inflation, budgets and geopolitics.

Natural sources · Fossil stores · No. 13

• Not on a critical list
• HHI 800 · unconcentrated

In today's money, oil was dearer in 1864, at $166 a barrel, than in any year since, even 2011.

Chart: Illustration: Crude oil

Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Oil forms when buried organic-rich mud is slowly cooked, then seeps into porous traps. Each field fades after its peak, so output would drop about 8% a year without new wells.

Three things to know

1. Proved reserves rose from 1,301 billion barrels in 2000 to 1,732 billion in 2020, because reserves grow with prices and technology.
2. Without constant new drilling, world oil output would shrink by about 8% every year as fields age.
3. About 70% of today's oil formed in the Mesozoic era, between 252 and 66 million years ago, from buried plankton and algae.

The journey

1. 1 Reservoir rockConventional fields, shale and oil sands
2. 2 Wellhead crudeSeparated from gas and water
3. 3 Pipeline or tankerShipped to a refinery
4. 4 RefiningDistilled, cracked and reformed
5. 5 Fuels and feedstockPetrol, diesel, jet fuel, naphtha

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