Among the world’s various sources of energy, petroleum is the most widely used and important natural resource. This module explains the world's petroleum resources, in general.

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WORLD PETROLEUM RESOURCES
BY
PROF. A. BALASUBRAMANIAN
Centre for Advanced Studies in Earth
Science
University of Mysore
Mysore-6

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INTRODUCTION
Among the world’s various sources of
energy, petroleum is the most widely used
and important natural resource.
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally
occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a
complex mixture of hydrocarbons and other
liquid organic compounds.

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Petroleum is recovered from the old
sedimentary geological formations mostly
through oil drilling. They are refined,
separated and modified into a large number
of consumer products, from petrol and
kerosene to asphalt and chemical reagents
used to make plastics and pharmaceuticals.
The petroleum industry is one of the world's
largest industries.
It has four major branches.

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The production branch explores for oil and
brings it to the surface. The transportation
branch sends crude oil to refineries and
delivers the refined products to consumers.
The manufacturing branch processes crude
oil into useful products. The marketing
branch sells and distributes the products to
consumers. Petrol service stations handle
the largest share of these sales.

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Oil companies sell their petroleum products
directly to factories, power plants, and
transportation-related industries.
The petroleum industry plays a large role in
the economy of many nations. In many
industrial countries, it provides jobs for a
great many people.
Petroleum is an essential economic resource
used in the manufacturing of a wide variety
of materials for human and industrial
consumption.

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It has become an inevitable source of energy
for transport systems, agricultural
machineries, manufacturing industries,
petrochemical industries including
fertilizers, and for power generation. If we
look at the World consumption of the most
types of primary energy resources, we can find
that oil has the highest average power generating
potential of 5.74 Terra Watt(TW). It is followed by
coal which is 4.27 TW, Gas with 3.61 TW and the rest
have less than 1.0 TW. One Terra Watt is equal to
10^13 Watts.

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Fuel type Average power in TW
Oil 5.74
Coal 4.27
Gas 3.61
Hydroelectric 1.00
Nuclear power 0.93
Geothermal, wind,
solar energy, wood
0.16
Total 15.8
The twentieth century saw a rapid
twentyfold increase in the use of fossil fuels.
Fossil fuels are meeting 86% of the world's
energy requirement.

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If we look at the World energy use per
sector, as observed in 2008, it is seen that
36.0 % goes to the residential and service
sector, followed by the industry using 27.8
%, and the transport sector using 27.3 %.
Residential and service 36.0%
Industry 27.8%
Transport 27.3%
Non-energy use 8.9%
Total* 100%

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The Total world energy supply in 2008 was
found to be 143,851 Terra Watt hour.
WORLD REVIEW
The world proved reserves of crude oil and
natural gas at the end of 2008 were
estimated at 170.8 billion tonnes and 185.0
trillion cu m, respectively

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The rise in crude oil prices continued in
2008 mainly due to continuing growth in
demand, uncertainties of supply, constrains
of world refining capacity, as also because
of project delays, calamities, etc.
Petroleum terms
Barrel is the standard unit used to measure
crude oil and most petroleum products. One
barrel equals 159 litres.

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The petroleum industry generally classifies
crude oil by the geographic location it is
produced in (e.g. West Texas Intermediate,
Brent, or Oman), its API gravity (an oil
industry measure of density), and by its
sulfur content.
Crude oil may be considered light if it has
low density or heavy if it has high density.

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It may be referred to as sweet if it contains
relatively little sulfur or sour if it contains
substantial amounts of sulfur.
The geographic location is important
because it affects transportation costs to the
refinery.

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Light crude oil is more desirable than heavy
oil since it produces a higher yield of petrol,
while sweet oil commands a higher price
than sour oil because it has fewer
environmental problems and requires less
refining to meet sulfur standards imposed on
fuels in consuming countries.

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Oil accounts for a large percentage of the
world's energy consumption, ranging from a
low of 32% for Europe and Asia, up to a
high of 53% for the Middle East.
Other geographic regions' consumption
patterns are as follows: South and Central
America (44%), Africa (41%), and North
America (40%).

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The world at large consumes 30 billion
barrels (4.8 km³) of oil per year, and the
top oil consumers largely consist of
developed nations.
Fuels
The most common distillations of petroleum
are fuels. Fuels include (by increasing
molecular masses):
 Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
 Ethane and other short-chain alkanes

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 Gasoline (Petrol)
 Diesel fuel (petrodiesel)
 Kerosene
 Jet fuel
 Fuel oils
Other derivatives
Certain types of resultant hydrocarbons may
be mixed with other non-hydrocarbons, to
create other end products:

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 Alkenes (olefins) which can be
manufactured into plastics or other
compounds
 Lubricants (produces light machine oils,
motor oils, and greases, adding viscosity
stabilizers as required).
 Wax, used in the packaging of frozen
foods, among others.
 Sulfur or Sulfuric acid. These are a useful
industrial materials.

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Sulfuric acid is usually prepared as the
acid precursor oleum, a byproduct of
sulfur removal from fuels.
 Bulk tar.
 Asphalt
 Petroleum coke, used in speciality carbon
products or as solid fuel.
 Paraffin wax
 Aromatic petrochemicals to be used as
precursors in other chemical production.

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Agriculture
Since the 1940s, agricultural productivity
has increased dramatically, due largely to
the increased use of energy-intensive
mechanization, fertilizers and pesticides.
Nearly all pesticides and many fertilizers are
made from oil.

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1. PETROLEUM AS ECONOMIC
RESOURCE
Crude oil:
Petroleum, also called crude oil, ranges from
clear yellow-brown oils to thick, black tars.
Some crude oil is burned as fuel in stoves
and boilers without processing.

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However, most petroleum is refined to
produce such fuels as petrol, diesel oil, and
paraffin.
Petrol is used by most motor vehicles and
piston-engine aeroplanes. Diesel oil powers
most trains, ships, and large trucks.
Paraffin provides energy for jet aeroplanes.
Other fuel oils obtained by refining
petroleum include distillate oils and residual
oils.

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Distillate oils are light oils, which are used
chiefly to heat homes and small buildings.
Residual oils are heavy, thick oils.
They provide energy to power utilities,
factories, and large ships.
They are also used to heat large buildings.

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Oil, Crude, and Petroleum:
Terms and Definitions
The terms "oil", "crude", and "petroleum"
are often used interchangeably in the
oil/petroleum industry. Technically, there
are some fuzzy distinctions:
Oil is a general term that includes crude oil
as well as non-petroleum oils such as
vegetable and animal oils.

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Crude oil is a mineral oil, comprising a mix
of hydrocarbons and associated impurities
such as sulphur.
May also contain small amounts of benzene,
hydrocarbons, sulfur, oxygenated
compounds.
When it contains hydrogen sulfide, it is
referred to as "sour" crude.

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Petroleum is used generally to refer to all
forms of liquid hydrocarbons--crude oil
and/or petroleum-derived products such as
gasoline, diesel and jet fuels, residual fuel
oils, lubricants, some petroleum solvents,
and used oils. The term literally means "rock
oil". The exact molecular composition varies
widely from formation to formation but the
proportion of chemical elements vary over
fairly narrow limits as follows:

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Composition by weight
Element Percent range
Carbon 83 to 87%
Hydrogen 10 to 14%
Nitrogen 0.1 to 2%
Oxygen 0.05 to 1.5%
Sulfur 0.05 to 6.0%
Metals < 0.1%
Four different types of hydrocarbon
molecules appear in crude oil.

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The relative percentage of each varies from
oil to oil, determining the properties of each
oil.
Composition by weight
Hydrocarbon Average Range
Paraffins 30% 15 to 60%
Naphthenes 49% 30 to 60%
Aromatics 15% 3 to 30%
Asphaltics 6% remainder

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Most of the world's oils are non-
conventional.

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Crude oil varies greatly in appearance
depending on its composition. It is usually
black or dark brown (although it may be
yellowish, reddish, or even greenish). In the
reservoir it is usually found in association
with natural gas, which being lighter forms a
gas cap over the petroleum, and saline water
which, being heavier than most forms of
crude oil, generally sinks beneath it.

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Petroleum is used mostly, by volume, for
producing fuel oil and petrol, both important
"primary energy" sources.
84% by volume of the hydrocarbons present
in petroleum is converted into energy-rich
fuels (petroleum-based fuels), including
petrol, diesel, jet, heating, and other fuel
oils, and liquefied petroleum gas

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The geographic location is important
because it affects transportation costs to the
refinery.
Today, about 90% of vehicular fuel needs
are met by oil.
Viability of the oil commodity is controlled
by several key parameters, number of
vehicles in the world competing for fuel,
quantity of oil exported to the world market
(Export Land Model), Net Energy Gain
(energy consumed to provide economically

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useful energy), political stability of oil
exporting nations and ability to defend oil
supply lines.
Because oil is not consumed when it is
produced, transportation and storage are
major segments of the oil industry.
The oil is sent to a refinery by pipeline, ship
or barge and then it is stored to wait for
processing.

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Refining
Refining involves three basic processes:
1. Distillation. Separating the crude oil
into its various fractions through
distillation.
2. Fractionation. converting these
fractions into distinct components, and
3. Blending. Combining components into
finished products.

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One 42-gallon barrel of oil can be turned
into more than 44 gallons of petroleum
products.
Over 3,000 petroleum products can made
from crude.
One Gallon of Refined Crude =
19.4 gallons of gasoline 43%
18% heating oil and diesel fuel
14% Other products

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11% Propane
9% jet fuel
3% asphalt

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2. PETROLEUM RESOURCES AND
RESERVES
World Proved Reserves of Crude Oil*
(By Principal Countries)
(In billion tonnes)
Country Reserves
World: Total 170.8
Saudi Arabia 36.3
Iran 18.9
Iraq 15.5
Venezuela 14.3

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Kuwait 14.0
UAE 13.0
Russian Federation 10.8
Libya 5.7
Kazakhstan 5.3
Nigeria 4.9
Canada 4.4
USA 3.7
China 2.1
India 0.8
Other countries 21.1
* At 2008 end. Source: Indian Statistics,
2008-09.

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World Proved Reserves of Natural Gas*
(By Principal Countries)(In trillion cu m)
Country Reserves
World : Total 185.00
Russian Federation 43.30
Iran 29.61
Qatar 25.46
Turkmenistan 7.94
Saudi Arabia 7.57
USA 6.73
UAE 6.43
Nigeria 5.22
Venezuela 4.84
Algeria 4.50

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Indonesia 3.18
Iraq 3.17
Norway 2.91
Australia 2.51
China 2.46
Malaysia 2.39
Kazakhstan 1.82
Uzbekistan 1.58
India 1.09
Pakistan 0.85
Myanmar 0.49
Bangladesh 0.37
Other countries 20.58
* At 2008-end. Source: Indian Statistics,2008-09.

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3. PETROLEUM PRODUCTION
The vast majority of oil is still owned by
national governments through state-owned
oil companies.
Mexico, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia
control 90% of the reserves, and 69% of the
world's oil and gas production.
Oil supplies are highly susceptible to
political disruption.

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Top Five Oil-producing Nations
1. Saudi Arabia
2. United States
3. Russia
4. Iran
5. China
Top Five Oil Producing States
1. Texas
2. Alaska
3. Californa
4. Louisiana
5. Oklahoma

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Production

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Oil producing countries -a general data:
Producing Nation
103
bbl/d
(2009)
Present Share
1. Russia 9,934 12.0%
2. Saudi Arabia (OPEC) 9,760 11.8%
3. United States 9,141 11.1%
4. Iran (OPEC) 4,177 5.1%
5. China 3,996 4.8%
6. Canada 3,294 4.0%
7. Mexico 3,001 3.6%
8. United Arab Emirates
(OPEC)
2,795 3.4%
9. Brazil 2,577 3.1%

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10. Kuwait (OPEC) 2,496 3.0%
11. Venezuela (OPEC) 2,471 3.0%
12. Iraq (OPEC) 2,400 2.9%
13. Norway 2,350 2.8%
14. Nigeria (OPEC) 2,211 2.7%
15. Algeria (OPEC) 2,126 2.6%
16. Angola (OPEC) 1,948 2.4%
17. Libya (OPEC) 1,789 2.2%
18. Kazakhstan 1,540 1.9%
19. United Kingdom 1,422 1.7%
20. Qatar (OPEC) 1,213 1.5%
21. Indonesia 1,023 1.2%
22. Azerbaijan 1,012 1.2%
23. India 877 1.1%

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24. Oman 816 1.0%
25. Argentina 794 1.0%
26. Malaysia 693 0.8%
27. Colombia 686 0.8%
28. Egypt 678 0.8%
29. Australia 588 0.7%
30. Sudan 486 0.6%
31. Ecuador (OPEC) 485 0.6%
32. Syria 400 0.5%
33. Equatorial Guinea 346 0.4%
34. Vietnam 346 0.4%
35. Thailand 339 0.4%
36. Yemen 287 0.3%
37. Denmark 262 0.3%

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38. Gabon 242 0.3%
39. Turkmenistan 198 0.2%
40. South Africa 192 0.2%
Oil producing nations based on their percent
share:
Producing Nation 103
bbl/d (2009) Present Share
1. Russia 1
9,934 12.0%
2. Saudi Arabia (OPEC) 9,760 11.8%
3. United States 1
9,141 11.1%
4. Iran (OPEC) 4,177 5.1%
5. China 3,996 4.8%
6. Canada 2
3,294 4.0%
7. Mexico 1
3,001 3.6%

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8. United Arab Emirates (OPEC) 2,795 3.4%
9. Brazil 2,577 3.1%
10.Kuwait (OPEC) 2,496 3.0%
11.Venezuela (OPEC) 1
2,471 3.0%
12.Iraq (OPEC) 3
2,400 2.9%
13.Norway 1
2,350 2.8%
14.Nigeria (OPEC) 2,211 2.7%
15.Algeria (OPEC) 2,126 2.6%
16.Angola (OPEC) 1,948 2.4%
17.Libya (OPEC) 1,789 2.2%
18.Kazakhstan 1,540 1.9%
19.United Kingdom 1,422 1.7%
20.Qatar (OPEC) 1,213 1.5%
21.Indonesia 1,023 1.2%
22.Azerbaijan 1,012 1.2%

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23.India 877 1.1%
24.Argentina 794 1.0%
25.Oman 816 1.0%
26.Malaysia 693 0.8%
27.Egypt 678 0.8%
28.Colombia 686 0.8%
29.Australia 588 0.7%
30.Ecuador (OPEC) 485 0.6%
31.Sudan 486 0.6%
32.Syria 400 0.5%
33.Equatorial Guinea 346 0.4%
34.Thailand 339 0.4%
35.Vietnam 346 0.4%
36.Yemen 287 0.3%
37.Denmark 262 0.3%

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38.Gabon 242 0.3%
39.South Africa 192 0.2%
40.Turkmenistan 198 0.2%
World Production of Crude Petroleum (By
Principal Countries) (In million tonnes)
Country 2008
World : Total 3911
Saudi Arabia @ 515
Russia 488
U.S.A. 310
Iran 210
China # 190

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Mexico 163
United Arab Emirates 139
Kuwait @ 137
Canada 136
Venezuela 132
Iraq 119
Norway 117
Nigeria 105
Brazil 99
United Kingdom 65
Other countries 986
Source: World Mineral Production, 2004-2008.
@ Including shares of production from the Neutral Zone.
# Including oil from shale and coal.

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Top natural gas producers (billion cubic
meters)
Top natural gas producers (billion cubic meters)
In 2009
Billion cubic meters
1.United States 594
2.Russia 589
3.Canada 159
4.Iran 144
5.Norway 106
6.China 90
7.Qatar 89
8.Algeria 81
9.Netherlands 79
10.Indonesia 76

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World total 3,101
Top ten 65 %
The world crude oil production in 2008
remained stable at 3.91 billion tonnes.
OPEC countries, namely, Algeria, Angola,
Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait,
Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE
and Venezuela, had a share of about 45% in
the world crude oil production in 2008.
Saudi Arabia (13%),

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Russia (12%),
USA (8%),
Iran & China (5% each),
Mexico, Kuwait & UAE (4.5% each) and
Iraq, Nigeria, Norway, Canada & Venezuela
(3% each) were the principal producers of
crude petroleum.
The world production of natural gas rose to
3.15 trillion cu m in 2008 from 3.04 trillion
cu m in 2007.

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OPEC countries had a share of 18.5% in the
world natural gas production in 2008.
Russia (21%),
USA (18%),
Canada (5%)
Iran (4%) and
Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Norway &
Netherlands (3% each) were the chief
producers of natural gas in 2008

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CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION STATISTICS
World crude oil production increased by 2%
in 2010, coming back to its pre-crisis levels.
OPEC’s output, which represents about 40%
of overall crude oil production, contributed
about ¼ of this increase. Falls in Algerian,
Iraqi and Venezuelan production were offset
by significant growth in Nigerian
production.

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Above-average increases in oil outputs were
also noticed in UAE (2.3%) and Kuwait
(2.2%).
In non-OPEC countries, growth was driven
by Russia, which has been the world’s
largest crude oil producer since 2009, the
United States, and China (7.1%).
Conversely, oil production dropped further
in Europe (-6.4%), with large reductions in
Norway and the United Kingdom.

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World Production of Natural Gas (By
Principal Countries)(In billion cu m)
Country 2008
World: Total 3155
Russia 664
U.S.A. # 582
Canada 168
Iran 116
Norway 99
Algeria 87
Netherlands 80
Saudi Arabia 80
Indonesia 79
United Kingdom 75
Turkmenistan 66

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Uzbekistan 62
Malaysia 58
Other Countries 939
# Dry gas. Source: World Mineral Production, 2004-2008.
The world consumption of refined products
fell by 2% in 2009.
In OECD countries, the demand was 4.6%
lower than in 2008; driven by transport
sector (60% of the needs).

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The drop was led by substantial cuts in
Europe and Japan’s consumptions (-6% and
-7% respectively) while in North America,
consumption reduced to a lesser extend (-
4.5%). Among developing countries,
consumption growth in Asia was boosted by
Chinese and Indian continuing strong
appetite for refined oil products.

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In the Middle East, consumption of refined
products posted high growth rates in Saudi
Arabia and Kuwait. Conversely,
consumption of oil refined products was
scaled down by above 6% in Russia and
broadly in CIS.
n 2009, world crude oil production fell by
3%. OPEC's production, accounting for 42%
of the world's output, decreased dramatically
by about 8%.

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The scale down in volumes produced was
primarily undergone by large producers in
Middle East:
Saudi Arabia (-12%) and Kuwait (-11%);
but also occurred in European countries (-
6.4%) and in large producing countries in
Latin America (-8% on average) except
Brazil.
In Asia, Chinese and Indonesian oil
productions slightly dropped by 3%,

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while a further drop was noticed in India (-
17%).
Canada faced a reduction in crude oil
production (-1.7%) while it surged in the
USA (+7%).
In CIS, oil production grew by 3.2%:
increases in the two main producers' output
(Russia and Kazakhstan) balanced
reductions in other region's countries.

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4. PETROLEUM CONSUMPTION
WORLD CONSUMPTION FOR REFINED OIL PRODUCTS IN
2010
World energy consumption of refined
products increased 3.8%; this is the first
increase since 2004, the last year with prices
below US$50/bbl.
This trend was supported by fast-growing
demand for road and air transport,
particularly in developing countries.

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In China, demand for refined products
surged by 12% due to increasing needs.
Asia accounted for more than 40% of the
overall increase in consumption.
In Latin America, demand rose sharply by
5.7%, representing 13% of the increase.

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In CIS, consumption grew by 7.3% (8.9% in
Russia), while rising 4.2% in the Middle
East (driven by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait).
Each region contributed 8% to the overall
increase.
Consumption in OECD countries (47% of
overall consumption) increased more slowly
(1.6%).

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The United States remained by far the
world’s largest consumer of refined
products.
Consumption there grew by 2.1% (11% of
the increase), but did not recover to pre-
crisis levels.
In Japan, consumption rose by 1.6% after a
sharp drop in 2009, while in Europe,
consumption of oil products remained quite
stable during the year.

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The world consumption of oil in 2008 was
estimated as 3,927.9 million tonnes, while
that of natural gas was 2,726.1 million
tonnes oil equivalent.
Consumption of oil and natural gas in India
in the same period was 135 million tones
(with 3.4% share) and 37.2 million tonnes
oil equivalent (with 1.4% share),
respectively.

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Consuming Nation
2008
(1000 bbl/day) (1000 m3
/day)
population in
millions
bbl/year per
capita
United States 19,497.95 3,099.9 314 22.6
China 7,831.00 1,245.0 1345 2.1
Japan 4,784.85 760.7 127 13.7
India 2,962.00 470.9 1198 0.9
Russia 2,916.00 463.6 140 7.6
Germany 2,569.28 408.5 82 11.4
Brazil 2,485.00 395.1 193 4.7
Saudi Arabia
(OPEC)
2,376.00 377.8 25 33.7
Canada 2,261.36 359.5 33 24.6
South Korea 2,174.91 345.8 48 16.4
Mexico 1
2,128.46 338.4 109 7.1
France 1,986.26 315.8 62 11.6
Iran (OPEC) 1,741.00 276.8 74 8.6
United Kingdom 1,709.66 271.8 61 10.1
Italy 1,639.01 260.6 60 10

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5. PETROLEUM IMPORTS & EXPORTS.
#
Importing Nation
(2006)
(103
bbl/day) (103
m3
/day)
1United States 12,220 1,943
2Japan 5,097 810
3China 3,438 547
4Germany 2,483 395
5South Korea 2,150 342
6France 1,893 301
7India 1,687 268
8Italy 1,558 248
9Spain 1,555 247
10Republic of China 942 150

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(Taiwan)
11Netherlands 936 149
12Singapore 787 125
13Thailand 606 96
14Turkey 576 92
15Belgium 546 87
FOREIGN TRADE
Exports
Exports of crude petroleum increased to 56
thousand tonnes in 2008-09.

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Main destinations were Netherlands (89%)
and Singapore (9%).
Exports of natural gas in 2008-09 declined
considerably to 38,074 tonnes, against
49,812 tonnes in 2007-08.
Exports were entirely to Nepal.

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Imports
Imports of crude petroleum reached 130.04
million tonnes in 2008-09, a rise of 13%
over the preceding year level of 115.34
million tonnes.
Imports were mainly from Saudi Arabia
(20%), Iran (17%), UAE and Kuwait (11%
each) and Nigeria and Iraq (9% each).

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Main suppliers were Qatar (78%),
Algeria and Nigeria (3% each) and
Oman and Thailand (2% each).
Imports of petroleum products (total) were
20.3 million tonnes in 2008-09 declining
9.8% compared to 22.5 million tonnes in the
preceding year.