Suchergebnisse

The twentieth century witnessed the biggest shift in energy sources the world has perhaps experienced since the use of fire was widespread. In the first twenty-five years of the century, coal was arguably the main source of energy for the industrialized world. The energy needs of large countries could be met entirely by domestic resources or supplemented by sources close by (in the case of Japan). Coal would have continued to be the main source of energy if the discovery of large quantities of oil in southern Russia, the Middle East and, later, in the United States, had not quickly aroused interest in the comparative ease of its extraction and transportation , and its conversion to meet a wide range of needs. What circumstances caused the oil revolution in the mid-fifties? What circumstances led to your availability being placed at the top of national priorities? These questions can be illustrated by statistical references to the increase in energy consumption, starting in 1960 (the year in which the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries [OPEC) was founded); that year, world energy consumption was of the order of 132 quintillion British Thermal Units (QBTU); ten years later, it was 217 QBTU; five years later, in 1975, it reached about 225 QBTU. In 1990, the 415 QBTU - a three-fold increase in world energy consumption in just thirty years. What was the share of oil (and natural gas) in these increases? In 1960, they accounted for 48 percent of the world's energy consumption. Ten years later, participation had increased to 63 percent; in 1975, it was already 67 percent; and in 1990, even if we assume a large contribution from nuclear energy, the share of oil and natural gas reaches 85 percent. The implications in terms of quantity are impressive. Eight billion barrels of oil consumed worldwide in 1960, 17 billion barrels in 1975, and 30 billion barrels in 1980: an almost four-fold increase in oil and gas consumption. Ten years later, participation had increased to 63 percent; in 1975, it was already 67 ...