How long can the world continue using oil at today's rates?

Question

How long can the world continue using oil at today's rates?

To determine this period of time, you need to know how much oil still remains and how much oil is consumed each year. You may assume that all of the oil produced each year is used during that year.

1. Add the reserves of each oil-producing country to determine the amount of oil that remains available for use. Keep in mind that this is the amount of oil that can be produced using today's technologies. Enter that value here: ________________________ tonnes. (Note: there are approximately 7.4 barrels of oil per tonne.)

2. Enter the total world oil production per year: __________________________ tonnes per year.

3. To determine how many more years the world can continue to use oil at the current rate, divide the amount of reserves by the amount of oil produced each year. Enter that value here: ___ years.

4. List several ways to increase the amount of time that remains before the world runs out of oil. Consider these ideas as you complete the next section of the Respond sheet.

Answer 1

The Independet, Thursday, 14 June 2007

World oil supplies are set to run out faster than expected, warn scientists

BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, published yesterday, appears to show that the world still has enough "proven" reserves to provide 40 years of consumption at current rates. The assessment, based on officially reported figures, has once again pushed back the estimate of when the world will run dry