Nowadays, oil is increasingly important in the world and this paper introduces the basic properties of fossil fuels including oil, coal and natural gas. The history of oil is divided into four stages and it explains the characteristics and the most important events of each stage.
As economies tend to grow and living standards are improving, demand for more energy, mostly oil, is a greater necessity and it is needed to be supplied. With all proven reserves it is hardly predictable how long this journey with oil will go, but it all depends on future findings, consumption and use of alternative fuels.
Due to this evident decline in conventional oil production, the population growth among other factors, methods as Fisher-Tropsch takes the attention for producing alternative fuels from non-petroleum sources such as coal, natural gas, or biomass. A brief explication of the method is exposed and the increase in the production of these derivate fuels by this method, especially from natural gas (GTL) is summarized.
Two different positions about the world´s oil peak are presented, those who believe in a near date for peak oil (most of them in a range of 2005-2012) and those who believe in a far oil peak. Important organizations such as EIA believe that world´s oil peak will not be reached before 2035 while IEA believe that the peak was reached in 2006, this difference are based on the distinct approximations and types of simulations used. In this paper it is presented the fundamental concepts and the evidence that oil production has been decreasing and this decreasing is bigger for non-OPEC countries. Also, this paper concentrates to investigate literature that summarizes the actual information on state of oil.
1. Introduction
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... in order to control the price and production of oil. OPEC forced the multinational oil companies agree to increase the oil tax and adjust the oil policy repeatedly and recover the large concession to nationalize the countrys’ petroleum resources. They made a limited production price policy in the situation of the world oil market oversupply in the early 1980s, dominating the world oil industry (Li, 2013).
The fourth stage is from 1973 until present time. The price levels fluctuated in the scope that supply and demand can accept and depend more on the markets from 1987 to 1999. The price of crude oil continues to rise after 1999 and it still maintains a high level. Therefore, world oil industry is growing rapidly so that the changes in the oil market are endless making it very difficult to predict accurate trends in oil industry (China University of Petroleum, 2011).
Almost every single nation in our world today, the United States included, is extremely reliant on oil and how much of it we can obtain. Wars have been started between countries vying for control of this valuable natural resource. The United States as a whole has been trying to reduce its reliance on foreign oil and has had some success, especially with the discovery of the Bakken formation and projects like the Keystone Pipeline.
Expanded and strengthened state private insurance companies are to be expected since more younger Texans enter the market thanks to the premium support. Texas can expect savings through more proper use of medical care, lower numbers in Medicaid, and savings from increased recipient cost sharing. Texas must refuse to comply with the new high-risk pools. There are many reasons Texas should not comply but the main reason is poor design. Currently, eighteen states have decided not to participate in these pools, Texas is undecided. Any person with a pre-existing medical disorder whom has been without insurance for six month will qualify. The law gave the Department of Health discretion in determining with conditions qualifies. Theoretically, the Department of Health could say the flu is a pre existing medical condition. If Texas does not refuse to comply with these pools it is only a matter of time before the demand will exceed the supply. A huge concern is when the funding is gone what do the state politicians do. I see two options. One, state officials will end the coverage all together and pull the plug. Two, continue to allow the program to run with the use of state tax dollars.
In 2004, crude oil producers around the world expected a 1.5% growth in the world’s demand for crude oil. The actual growth rate was more than double the projections at 3.3%. This growth was due to rapidly industrializing of foreign countries such as, China and India. Therefore the lack of crude oil affected the supply of gasoline to consumers at the pump.
In ancient times Babylonians used oil as mortar, Native Americans used oil as a topical medicine, and, before electricity, oil was used to create light. Mankind has been dependant on oil as a resource for generations. It has influenced growth, warfare, and technological advancement, but what if mankind were to run out (Alois)? The possibility of this eventuality was first vocalized by M. King Hubbert who introduced the notion of “peak oil.” When global oil production “peaks” it reaches its greatest output level and then permanently declines (Hubbert). There is much debate as to whether this “peak” exists, has already been passed, or will be passed in the near future. Despite the debate there is one undeniable fact; there is a finite amount of oil since it is a non renewable resource. Considering a sudden systemic collapse of all oil production seems unlikely, oil will probably be replaced gradually. This loss of oil could be positive; possibly less CO2 would enter the atmosphere and global warming may be stalled. However, the success of this transition away from fossil fuels will be largely dependant on the ability of developed nations to manage their time. If the US, or any other nation, is going to be successful, they need to start now.
Both 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale are dystopian novels, however, these books are a lot more complex than mere portrayals of dystopia, it can be argued that they are explorations of dystopia rather than mere portrayals. In order to explore dystopia, many themes must be considered, such as; feminism, love and repression. Nonetheless, it is apparent that human characteristics are the driving point of the two novels, predominantly, the depiction of human resilience. In an imperfect world, it is important to have certain qualities which, if plentiful, it can mean success, whereas if it lacks, it can mean failure, this characteristic is resilience. The protagonists in each novel, Winston in 1984 and Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale face situations which leave them both in disarray, and both even consider suicide. The authors tentatively highlight human resilience, its limits and most importantly its strengths into the two novels.
We the American people have seen rising oil and gasoline prices continuously over the last few decades. Each year is slightly higher than the last. However, we have seen a few instances where oil and gasoline prices have spiked rapidly enough to invoke the American public to stop spending or cut back. The first time in recent history was after the hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Then, in July 2008 we saw a massive jump to the current record high national average of $4.50 per gallon of gasoline. Oil at this time was over $115 per barrel of light sweet crude which is the oil that American’s use in their gasoline. Currently the US oil and gasoline prices continue to increase. In the last month gasoline alone has risen almost 17 cents a gallon that’s slightly over a 5% increase (source). Compare the increase in the last month to the average yearly increase of %14 or roughly 39 cents per gallon (source). This leads to a particular, why is the price of oil and gasoline increasing at such a rapid rate? Three possible reasons for this could be: the unrest in the Middle East, speculation and risky trading on futures, or a simple difference in supply and demand.
Scott Hightower’s poem “Father” could be very confusing to interpret. Throughout almost the entirety of the poem the speaker tries to define who his father is by comparing him to various things. As the poem begins the reader is provided with the information that the father “was” all of these things this things that he is being compared to. The constant use of the word “was” gets the reader to think ‘how come the speaker’s father is no longer comparable to these things?’ After the speaker reveals that his father is no longer around, he describes how his father impacted him. Details about the father as well as descriptions of the impacts the father has distraught on the speaker are all presented in metaphors. The repetitive pattern concerning the speaker’s father and the constant use of metaphors gives the reader a sense that the speaker possesses an obsessive trait. As the reader tries to interpret the seemingly endless amount of metaphors, sets of connotative image banks begin to develop in the reader’s mind. Major concepts that are expressed throughout the poem are ideas about what the speaker’s father was like, what he meant to the speaker, and how he influenced the speaker.
In 1970 oil reserves became more scarce, leading to a decrease in production, while consumption continued to grow rapidly (Wright, R. T., & Boorse, D. F. 2011). In order to fill the gap between rising demand and falling supply of oil, the United States became more and more dependent on imported oil, primarily from Arab countries in the Middle East. Wright, R. T., & Boorse, D. F. (2011). As the U.S. and many other countries became highly industrialized nations, they became even more dependent on oil imports. With demand being higher than the actual amount of supply, prices kept rising, reaching a peak of $140 a barrel in 2008.
During the Great Depression, while the competitors were cutting costs and reusing outdated designs, Kress was expanding and building more elaborate stores than their previous ones. The architecture was referred to as an “emporium” evoking an elegant atmosphere more suited to a fine cloth or furniture store in New York rather than the five & dime stores dotting small town America. Many wonder what the driving force was behind these design decisions, especially during a national time of economic recession. Perhaps simply to outpace the competition, but perhaps more importantly Samuel Kress was an avid art collector and a proponent of public art enhancing a community. In this way the Kress legacy of the brand became more than a retail business, it became a symbol of small town civic pride.
OPEC was established in the 1960's and ever since, Saudi Arabia gained a reputation of being the major power of the organization. Saudi Arabia has the biggest oil reserves in the world and production costs lower than any country. (economist.com 2003)This means that it is a natural monopoly and economies of scale arises; when the long run average total cost falls as the quantity of output increases as illustrated in figure 1. (Gans, J. King, S., Mankiw, N., 2003) Saudi Arabia is the undisputed leader of OPEC.
Oil is an essential resource in the whole world. People use oil in a variety of ways. The world has used oil for many years and it will still use it as a basic commodity. Oil use can be traced back to 1850s. However, when Edwin Drake produced commercially usable quantities of crude oil from a 69-foot well in Pennsylvania in 1859, he marked a new period that considered oil as a valuable commodity. Oil prices have been inconsistent since 1859. The discoveries of more wells considerably lowered oil prices and made some oil barons abandon the industry. However, oil prices have increased over time because of several factors.
A. Scientists predict that in the next several decades the world will run out of oil. According to the article How Fast is the World Running out of Crude Oil by Umut Newbury accessed from the EBSCO Host database states that
In order to fully understand the Wests urge of control over Middle Eastern oil, one must recognize the forms that those energy resources come in; given the importance of oil in almost everything produced, controlling the basic component would significantly affect the market. Petroleum products, in all of their forms, are used in four major sectors: transportation, ind...
Fossil fuels are used and burned for the engines of ships, cars, airplane and helicopter engines, lawn appliances, saws, and other machineries. Since the less dense liquid products are in heavy demand for engines for combustion, a refinery will use its ability to convert dense hydrocarbons and less dense gaseous components into numerous higher value products. Petroleum refineries produce millions and millions of crude oil. Interestingly, one oil refinery located in Israel is capable of making up to nine millions tons of crude oil just in one year! The cooling towers of this facility extend so high up into the air, making magnificent landmarks!