The Importance Of Crude Oil

Crude oil, or as some call it, “black gold” due to its color and value, is used in just about every aspect of our daily lives: the clothes we wear, our cell phones and computers, polymer fibers (or plastics), paints and finishes, and many more. Crude oil is found in layers of sedimentary rock, typically limestone and sandstone, where it has been trapped for millions of years. Crude oil is held in a reservoir by a salt dome, or by a fault, where the surrounding rock is impermeable; the ceiling of the reservoir is called a caprock. Geologist Jeff Morris (1992) stated that one way to collect this crude oil is by drilling through the caprock, which releases the oil due to the pressure inside of the Earth (p. 19). Although we need this oil, many

This is because we use each and every fraction for different purposes (API 2013). This being the case, we are literally surrounded by crude oil every moment of our lives. Transportation would be impossible if it weren’t for the many different fractions of oil, and nor would the creation of things such as polymer fibers. Polymer fibers, or plastics, are found in almost everything we use every day. Collection and refining of crude oil is a huge industry that is thriving, and won 't easily be affected by opposition. These flourishing industries also pay huge tax bills that in turn pay for schools, hospitals, and other government-supplied services within their states. In the event of an oil spill or accident, the responsible company gets penalized with massive settlements. There are fines paid to government entities, such as the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) as well, which also help decrease the debt of

Without oil, the energy consumption would decrease by a very large scale; there would have to be an increase in nuclear, and sustainable power supplies, as well as burning wood for heat. Without oil travel as we know it would become nonexistent. As humans, we need to be very careful on all future decisions that have to do with increases in energy consumption. If humans continue using oil in the same fashion they 've become accustomed to, the looming crash of the oil industry will be reality due to the limited quantity of oil on Earth. The limitations have already caused the value of this nonrenewable resource to increase due to market inflation and demand. The best way to maintain energy consumption would be to conserve. Conservation can be accomplished by simple tasks, such as carpooling to common or close destination, driving more ecofriendly vehicles, by riding a bicycle or any other manually operated vehicles to a close destination instead of driving, not buying disposable plastic water bottles. Essentially, conservation comes down to reducing your own carbon