Crude Oil

Oil (Crude Oil) is the petroleum and other hydrocarbons in liquid form that is a hydrocarbon liquid substance and a viscous liquid at ambient temperature, formed by natural resources, and used for a fuel and petrochemical industry.

Crude is a natural oil mixture from underground rocks that has not yet been processed or refined. The Crude oil is named according to their viscosity: Light Crude - API > 31.1; Medium Crude - API between 22.3 and 31.1; Heavy Crude - API < 22.3; Extra Heavy Crude - API < 10.0.

Benchmark Oil is a Crude Oil that serves as a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil. The most widely used benchmarks are associated with crude oil that has four common qualities: stable and ample production; a transparent, free-flowing market located in a geo-politically and financially stable region to encourage market interactions; adequate storage to encourage market development; and/or delivery points at locations suitable for trade with other market hubs, enabling arbitrage (profit opportunities) so that prices reflect global supply and demand. There are the main three West Texas Intermediate, Brent Crude, and Dubai Crude.

Bitumen is a black and sticky substance of heavy hydrocarbon contents, a geological term that refers to the sticky, highly viscous semi-solid hydrocarbon present in most natural petroleum. It is alternatively called pitch, resin, and asphalt. (Refer to an Asphalt)

Bituminous Sand is a sand or rock including the Bitumen.

Brent Crude is a major trading classification of sweet light crude oil that serves as a major Benchmark Oil price for purchases of oil worldwide. Brent stands for the differing layers of an oil field: Broom, Rannoch, Etieve, Ness, and Tarbat. The Brent Crude is a light, sweet crude with an API gravity of 38.06 and a specific gravity of 0.835, making it slightly heavier than West Texas Intermediate (WTI). The sulphur content is 0.37%. The price of Brent Crude is used to set prices for roughly two-thirds of the world’s oil. It is mostly refined in Northwest Europe and is also called Brent Blend, London Brent, and Brent petroleum. The Brent field is located in the East Shetland Basin, halfway between Scotland and Norway.

Dubai Crude is a medium sour crude oil extracted from Dubai and is used as a price benchmark or oil marker because it is one of only a few Persian Gulf crude oils available immediately. Dubai Crude is light and sour, with an API gravity of 31 degrees and a specific gravity of 0.871. Its sulphur content is 2%, making it 6 times more sour than Brent Crude and 8 times more sour than West Texas Intermediate. It is generally used for pricing oil that comes from the Persian Gulf. Dubai Crude is also known as Fateh.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI, Texas light sweet) is the most famous of the Bench Mark Oils with a Brent Crude and Dubai Crude. The WTI is the underlying commodity of NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange's) oil futures contracts. and refers to oil extracted from wells in the U.S. and sent via pipelines. The WTI is a light, sweet crude with an API gravity of 39.6 degrees, a specific gravity of 0.827 at 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and it contains 0.24% sulphur and is refined in the Midwest.

Bonny Light Oil is a high grade of Nigeria sweet crude oil: API gravity of 32.9 and a sulphur content of 0.16%.

Isthmus-34 Light is a sour crude oil produced in Mexico mainly in the Campeche zone, in the Gulf of Mexico along with the extraction centres in Chiapas, Tabasco, and Veracruz. The Isthmus-34 Light has API gravity of 33.74 degrees and a sulphur content of 1.45%. Mexico is not a part of OPEC, this oil was once part of the OPEC Reference Basket (ORB). It was removed in from the ORB when it was changed in 2005.

Minas Oil is one of Indonesia's oldest and largest oil fields comes from the island of Sumatra as Sumatran Light that is a light and sweet crude. The Indonesian Crude Price (ICP) is determined by eight internationally traded Indonesia crudes: Minas; Cinta; Duri; Arjuna; Attaka; Widuri; Belida; Senipah. The Minas Crude Oil is: API gravity is approximately 35; the specific gravity is 0.8498; a sulphur content of only 0.08%; produced at a rate of approximately 420,000 barrels per day.

OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) is a weighted average of petroleum used as an important benchmark for crude oil prices that comes from OPEC countries. The ORB was introduced on 16 June 2005, is currently made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

Tapis Oil is often referred to as the World’s Costliest Oil and comes from a single field in Malaysia. Its value comes from the fact that WTI and Brent Crude are difficult and expensive to export to Asia and because it is of extremely high quality. Tapis has an API gravity of 45.2 degrees and a sulphur content of 0.0343%. These are exceptional numbers, indicating that Tapis is very light and very sweet. Unfortunately, output from the Tapis field has been falling steadily since 1998. (Source: www.petroleum.co.uk)

API Gravity is typically used in reference to crude oil that is calculated using its specific gravity: the ratio of its density to that of water. An API sets standards for production, refinement and distribution of petroleum products including the method used for measuring the density of petroleum. An API gravity which is always determined at 60 °F is calculated: API gravity = (141.5/Specific Gravity) – 131.5. An API gravity is used to classify oils as light, medium, heavy, or extra heavy (Light – API > 31.1, Medium – API between 22.3 and 31.1, Heavy – API < 22.3, Extra Heavy – API < 10.0).

The Annual Statistical Bulletin (ASB), one of the flagship publications of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), provides detailed and comprehensive time series data covering all chains of the oil industry, ranging from the exploration to the transportation segments. The ASB is distinctive in providing comprehensive statistical data on oil and gas activities in each of the 13 OPEC Member Countries: Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. In addition, it provides valuable data for many other countries grouped by geographical region, and covers the major economic zones all over the world. (Source: OPEC ASB 2023)

World crude oil production increased in 2022 by 3.46 million barrels/day (mb/d) or 5.0%, y-o-y, marking the second consecutive annual increase since 2020, to average of 72.80 mb/d. OPEC crude oil production rose by 2.53 mb/d, y-o-y, or 9.6%, while crude production by non-OPEC countries rose by 0.92 mb/d, or 2.1%.

World oil demand grew by 2.49 mb/d, y-o-y, or by 2.6% to reach 99.56 mb/d in 2022. Oil demand grew, y-o-y, in almost every region and the largest gains were recorded for OECD Americas, OECD Europe, India, Other Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Oil demand in OPEC Member Countries was bullish in 2022, gaining 0.57 mb/d or 6.9%, y-o-y. Distillates and gasoline accounted for around 54.9% of 2022 world oil demand with an upward trend during the years 2021 and 2022. Residual fuel oil requirements were about 6.7% of total oil demand in 2022.

World refinery capacity increased in 2022 by an additional 0.50 mb/d to stand at 101.77 mb/d. The NonOECD region, particularly the Middle East and China recorded refining capacity additions, while the OECD declined for the fourth consecutive year in 2022. Globally, refinery throughput increased by 2.19 mb/d or 2.7% to reach 83.84 mb/d in 2022, amid robust oil demand.

OPEC Member Countries exported an average of 21.39 mb/d of crude oil in 2022, a strong increase of about 1.73 mb/d, y-o-y, or 8.8%, remaining slightly below pre-pandemic levels. Following the pattern seen in previous years, the bulk of crude oil from OPEC Member Countries — 15.20 mb/d or 71.1% — was exported to Asia. Considerable volumes of crude oil — about 3.86 mb/d — were also exported to OECD Europe in 2022, compared with 3.27 mb/d recorded in 2021. OECD Americas imported 1.07 mb/d of crude oil from OPEC Member Countries, which was about 0.13 mb/d, or 13.9% above the 2021 volumes. Exports of petroleum products from OPEC Member Countries averaged 4.46 mb/d during 2022, up by around 0.43 mb/d, or 10.6%, compared to 2021. Imports of petroleum products by OPEC Member Countries averaged at 1.67 mb/d in 2022, roughly 0.17 mb/d, or 11.1%, higher than in 2021.

World proven crude oil reserves stood at 1,564 billion barrels (bn b) at the end of 2022, higher by 17 bn b, or 1.1% from the 2021 levels. Proven crude oil reserves in OPEC Member Countries increased marginally to 1,244 bn b at the end of 2022, following a decline during 2021. At the end of 2022, world proven natural gas reserves increased by 2.4% to approximately 210.06 trillion standard cubic metres (tr s cu m). Proven natural gas reserves in OPEC Member Countries stood at 75.12 tr s cu m at the end of 2022, up 1.2% from the level at the end of 2021.

The OPEC Reference Basket averaged $100.08/b in nominal terms during 2022, up from $69.89/b in 2021, an increase of $30.19/b, or 43.2%. The average volatility was $12.33/b, or 12.3%, relative to the yearly average.

In the WEO-2023, the Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS) sees lower demand projections for each of the fossil fuels than in the WEO-2022. This reflects current policy settings by governments worldwide, a slight downward revision in the economic outlook, and the continued ramifications of the 2022 global energy crisis. .. (Source: IEA World Energy Outlook 2023)

Coal: Scaling up clean power hastens the decline: After remaining consistently high over the past decade, global coal demand is now set to fall within the next few years in the STEPS. This projected trend reflects declines in recent years of capacity additions of both coal-fired power and coal-fired iron and steel production – the two largest consumers of coal today – which account for 65% and 16% respectively of overall coal consumption. The share of coal-fired power in new worldwide capacity additions hit a high point in 2006 at 45% and has since fallen steadily to 11% in 2022. The size of annual coal capacity additions peaked in 2012 at over 100 gigawatts (GW) before dropping to 50 GW in 2022, with big investments in coal falling away rapidly, and solar PV and wind power increasingly dominating the expansion of electricity systems.

Oil: End of the “ICE age” turns prospects around: In the past two decades, oil demand has surged by 18 million barrels per day (mb/d). Much of the increase has been driven by rising demand in road transport. The global car fleet expanded by more than 600 million cars over the last 20 years, and road freight activity has increased by almost 65%. Road transport now accounts for around 45% of global oil demand, which is far more than any other sector: the petrochemicals sector, second-largest in oil consumption, accounts for 15% of oil demand. The astounding rise in electric vehicle (EV) sales is now having an impact on demand for oil in road transport. Sales of gasoline and diesel cars, two/three-wheelers and trucks peaked in 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively (Figure 1.3). In 2020, EVs accounted for 4% of global car sales. They are on track to reach 18% in 2023 with 14 million EV sales, mostly in China and the advanced economies, and are set to continue to increase rapidly in the future. Sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) buses also peak by the mid-2020s in the STEPS, with the uptake of electric buses rising particularly quickly in emerging market and developing economies. By the end of this decade, road transport is no longer a source of oil demand growth.

Natural gas: Energy crisis marks the end of the “Golden Age” - The “Golden Age of Gas”, a term coined by the IEA in 2011, is nearing an end. Global natural gas use has increased by an annual average of almost 2% since 2011, but growth slows in the STEPS to less than 0.4% per year from now until 2030. The power and buildings sectors – today’s biggest consumers of natural gas accounting for 39% and 21% respectively of total demand – have already seen peaks in natural gas capacity additions for power plants and space heating boilers, and muted demand in these two sectors reduces natural gas use enough to cause it to peak by 2030.

Our Annual Energy Outlook 2023 (AEO2023) explores long-term energy trends in the United States. Since last year’s AEO, much has changed, most notably the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Public Law 117–169, which altered the policy landscape we use to develop our projections. (Source: EIA AEO 2023)

We project that U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions drop 25% to 38% below the 2005 level by 2030. For reference, the United States’ nationally determined contribution (NDC), submitted as part of the Paris Agreement, calls for a target of 50% to 52% of net greenhouse gas emissions below the 2005 level by 2030. We only consider energy-related CO2 emissions, which does not cover the full NDC scope. Total energy-related CO2 emissions in 2050 declined by 17% in this year’s Reference case compared with last year’s. Some of the primary factors that contributed to the change in our base case include the IRA, updates to technology costs and performance across the energy system, and changes in the macroeconomic outlook.

All AEO2023 cases assume current laws and regulations, and compared with last year’s AEO, there is a significant shift toward lower future emissions. The IRA represents a complex piece of legislation, and we could not model all provisions given model structure and uncertainty over select implementation details. The appendix includes a detailed accounting of IRA provisions and how we addressed them. To further explore possible emissions reductions, we also derive a cone of uncertainty based on an empirical analysis of our past projections and find that the energy-related CO2 emissions reduction can be as high as 45% below 2005 levels in 2030.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

One of the most troubled countries in the world, Venezuela is also the country with the world’s largest oil reserves. Not all major oil producers have major proven oil reserves. Sources estimate the U.S. crude oil reserves differently, but the EIA estimates that the U.S. has some 36 billion barrels of producible crude and condensate. We all know who the biggest producers of crude oil in the world are and can list the top three without effort. But here’s the thing – the biggest producers are not necessarily the countries with the biggest reserves. There are various reasons for that, as we shall see below. For now, suffice it to say it is one thing to have a natural resource and quite another to develop it fully. Here are the top ten countries richest in crude oil in ascending order. (By Irina Slav - Apr 24, 2023 (By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com))

1 Venezuela: One of the most troubled countries in the world, Venezuela is also the country with the world’s largest oil reserves, pegged at over 300 billion barrels. Yet U.S. sanctions, a now chronic economic crisis, and corruption have combined to prevent the country from making the most of its oil riches. After a period of flourishing in the nineties and early 2000s, the first oil price slump of the new millennium crippled the Venezuelan economy. Before it had a chance to recover, the U.S. slammed it with sanctions that have decimated output: in 2022, the average was 600,000 to 700,000 bpd. Exports averaged a little over 600,000 bpd.

2 Saudi Arabia: The world’s second-largest producer and OPEC’s largest, Saudi Arabia, has proven reserves of some 267 billion barrels. Production was a little over 9 million barrels daily in 2021, which rose to 11.5 million bpd in 2022, only to be cut recently by half a million bpd as part of the latest round of output cuts in OPEC+. Despite its tight hold of the production reins, the kingdom plans to expand its production capacity from the current 12 million barrels daily to 13 million barrels daily in 2027. Some analysts, however, have warned that Saudi Arabia is close to reaching its oil peak.

3 Canada: Canada is home to 171 billion barrels of crude oil, most of it in the form of bitumen in oil sands: as much as 166.3 billion of the total is oil sands, concentrated in Alberta. That’s a tenth of the world’s total oil reserves. The country is the fourth-largest oil producer in the world, with its daily average at over 5 million barrels last year—a record high. Interestingly, production is on the rise despite the federal government’s efforts to shrink the industry because of its carbon footprint. Demand for oil, however, keeps producers pumping. A recent Ipsos survey found that Canada is also the most preferred oil supplier on a global scale.

4 Iran: Iran has oil reserves of 208.6 billion barrels and produces around 2.39 million barrels daily. Of this, it only exports a little over 760,000 bpd, per OPEC data. The reason for the substantial gap between reserves, production, and exports are, of course, U.S. sanctions that the former administration re-imposed on Iran. Despite the sanctions—and the failed negotiations for their removal—Iran has been exporting more crude, topping 1.13 million bpd in late 2022 and starting this year on an upward trajectory, too. There are plans to boost production as well.

5 Iraq: Iraq, OPEC’s number-two producer, is home to proven reserves of some 145 million barrels, with production at around 4.5 million barrels daily. Exports average 3.4 million bpd but, like Kuwait, Iraq has big plans. Baghdad’s ambition is to match the output of its bigger fellow OPEC member Saudi Arabia but, according to analysts, it won’t be able to do that, with production capacity seen peaking at some 6.3 million barrels daily over the next five years.

6 Russia: Russia has some 80 billion barrels in proven crude oil reserves, according to the EIA, and as of this month, produces around 9.4 million barrels daily, excluding condensates. A couple of years ago, Russia was producing more than 11 million barrels daily, including condensates, but the invasion of Ukraine and the Western sanctions that followed prompted a response, and one of the forms it took was a production cut. Even so, exports of crude and fuels have returned to pre-war levels.

7 UAE: OPEC’s third-biggest oil producer, the United Arab Emirates, holds an estimated 111 billion barrels of crude oil and produces an average of 2.7 million barrels of it daily. Of this, it exports 2.3 million barrels daily, according to OPEC data. Besides a major oil producer and home to some of the world’s biggest reserves, the UAE is also an example of an economy that is using its main export commodity to diversify away from it. Thanks to its oil wealth, the UAE has turned into a luxury tourism magnet and has high hopes as a high-tech hub.

8 Kuwait: Kuwait has some 101.5 billion barrels in proven oil reserves, according to OPEC. The tiny Gulf state produces between 2.4 million and 2.67 million barrels of oil daily and exports some 1.7 million bpd. The state has big plans for its oil riches – by 2030, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation plans to boost the country’s production capacity to as much as 4 million barrels daily. Clearly, Kuwait is not particularly worried about predictions anticipating the demise of oil demand.

9 USA: Sources estimate the U.S. crude oil reserves differently. Some, such as the Energy Information Administration, put these at a little under 36 billion barrels and count condensate reserves separately. Others, such as the World Population Review, count crude and condensates together, coming up with reserves of 68.8 billion barrels for the U.S. Per the EIA figures, crude and condensates together come in at around 74 billion barrels. Yet the country is the biggest crude oil producer in the world.

10 Libya: The North African country is estimated to have some 48.3 billion barrels of crude oil in reserves. Yet it is a relatively minor producer, with its daily average at around 1.2 million barrels. Political instability and power struggles among different factions following the civil war is the main reason for Libya’s consistent trouble in making the most of its oil resources. Yet it seems things may be starting to turn around with Europe looking to the North African country as a bigger source of oil.

Whenever you see a headline like this, you know it will go along the lines of “did you know that petroleum stands for rock oil?” Yes you did, goes the reply of an overwhelming majority of readers. For this reason, the list below is one which holds the reader in high esteem, as a dear colleague on the road to broaden our knowledge of the oil industry. So here we go… (Source: Oil Price By Viktor Katona)

1) Oil’s first use was for caulking – ruins from early Antiquity (5-6 000 BC) testify that Euphrates and Indus Valley civilizations built their houses with bitumen. Caulking their ships with bitumen logically followed soon afterwards.

2) Both Tamerlane and Nadir Shah used camels laden with petroleum casks to frighten off Indian war elephants – once set on fire, the sight of fire made the elephants flee in panic.

3) A first in Europe, oil exported from Venezuela in 1539 was used to treat the gout of Emperor Charles V.

4) People of the Caspian Basin used oil to cure their camels’ mange.

5) Drilling was invented by the Chinese, using the cable tool percussion method, presumably during the 2nd millennium BC.

6) The Chinese know-how of drilling found its way to Europe thanks to the Catholic missionary Father Imbert, whose 1828 description of salt drilling methods paved the way for the development of oil drilling as we know it now.

7) In Medieval times, Caspian oil was transported in sealskin bags. (The Caspian seal was substantially more common back then, now it is an endangered species mostly due to radical habitat shrinking.) In other adjacent regions, sheepskin bags were used.

8) The Giza pyramids were glued together with bitumen.

9) Up until the early 20th century, oil was considered to be an excellent cure for diphtheria.

10) Oddly enough, up to the First World War, airplane fuel was blended with castor oil, irritating pilots to the point of constant diarrhea.

11) The first-ever oil tanker, Zoroaster, was sunk alongside six other ships near the Azerbaijani coast to create a platform for a new offshore field.

12) Titusville, the birthplace of the U.S. oil industry, gave rise to a plethora of other products, too. Robert Chesebrough came here to look into how petroleum could be used and came up with the idea of producing the petroleum jelly, Vaseline.

13) Chesebrough ate a spoonful of Vaseline every single day and lived until he was 96 years old.

14) The first oil war was the Chaco War (1932-1935), which pitted Paraguay, supported by Royal Dutch Shell, against Bolivia, supported by Standard Oil. In the end, most of the Chaco region went to Paraguay.

15) The average speed at which oil is transported through pipelines is about 5-10 km per hour (roughly 3-6mph).

16) Crude pipeline transportation was first proposed by the famous Russian scientist, Dmitry Mendeleev. He argued that burning oil in furnaces in the vicinity of producing fields is ineffective, instead oilmen should transport it to main centers of consumption, refine and use it there.

17) Mendeleev was also the first Russian scientist to take a proper look at the quality parameters of Russian (now Azerbaijani) crude. He established that Russian crude is heavier than light American crude, leaving substantially more residue.

18) In most European languages, crude oil is either a derivative of the Greek “petroleum” (meaning rock oil) or of the Persian “naphtha”. The only exception are a few Western Slavic nations, namely the Poles, Czechs and Slovaks, that call crude “ropa”, meaning “rot”.

19) Even the Chinese, not cognizant of European onomastics traditions, named petroleum in the 5th century BC shi you (“rock oil”).

20) The Kumzhinskaya field in Russia burned for 7 years, from 1980 and 1987, after a drilling rig caught fire. The authorities even exploded a nuclear bomb at a depth of 1.5km in an attempt to stop the fire, but the fire still burned.

21) The world’s northernmost oil field is the Russian offshore Pobeda field (N74’44’’).

22) The oldest functioning refinery is located in Digboi, India (capacity of 0.65 million tons per year) which first came online in 1901. It is likely the world’s smallest refinery.

23) The 1988 Piper Alpha explosion in the North Sea is the most deadly oil sector accident ever, leaving 167 dead.

24) The Deepwater Horizon catastrophe killed more than 8 000 birds and harmed another 75 000.

25) Only two ladies have so far held the highest post in national oil companies all around the world – Graça Foster (Petrobras) and Isabel dos Santos (Sonangol).

26) If one is to omit political appointees (Isabel dos Santos was appointed head of Sonangol by her father, José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled Angola for 38 years), Graça Foster remains the only “merit-based” female CEO of any major oil company.

27) The father of American geophysics, Everett Lee DeGolyer started working for the U.S. Geological Survey as a cook.

28) Arguably the lightest constant-quality oil grade is Algerian condensate, with an API density of 71°.

29) The world’s heaviest oil is found in Athabasca, Canada, with a standard API density of 8°.

30) The longest-producing oil well is the McClintock Well #1 in Titusville, Pennsylvania, which has been producing crude since 1861.

31) The world’s largest oil company is Russian (Rosneft), and so is the largest gas company (Gazprom).

32) Rosneft’s and Gazprom’s CEOs, Igor Sechin and Alexey Miller, worked together from 1991 to 1996 in the Foreign Affairs Committee of Saint Petersburg under the guidance of Vladimir Putin.

33) In Venezuela, the cost of a 0.33l (12 fl oz) beer can is equivalent to 30-35 liters of gasoline.

34) As of late February, Iceland has the highest gasoline prices in the world, yet a liter of gasoline still costs less than a bottle of water.

35) The largest oil platform is found at the Norwegian offshore field Troll, towering at 472m above sea level.

36) The world’s longest well was drilled in November 2017 at the Sakhalin-I, reaching a depth of 15,000 meters.

37) Were the oil rush to have started several decades later than the 1860s, we might have never witnessed a sperm whale in the 20th century – sperm whale oil was the essential source for producing kerosene, and as a result they were almost hunted down to extinction.

38) The idea of nationalizing one’s oil sector was first carried out by the Soviets in 1918 – it took almost 20 years until another country, Bolivia, nationalized its oil industry in 1937.

39) It took the Soviets more than forty years to market their rapidly increasing oil volumes in Europe – the first supply contracts were signed with West Germany and Italy in 1960, to intense American dissatisfaction.

40) It is very rarely stressed how socially mobile the oil industry has been since its inception – John D. Rockefeller’s father was a con artist, indicted for rape in 1849, whilst Ivan Gubkin, the founding father of Russian/Soviet petroleum geology, was the only literate child (out of 5) of a Volga burlak.

41) Offshore oil production makes up roughly 30% of total world output – despite heavy volatility this ratio has barely changed in the past decade.

42) Iraq is the most dependent country with regard to oil as a percentage of its exports (99%), whilst in terms of general GDP, it is Kuwait that is most dependent on the oil industry (55% of its GDP comes from oil).

43) The first commercial oil discovery in Africa took place in 1955 (the Benfica field in Angola), roughly a 100 years after the United States and the Russian Empire started producing oil.

44) The current oil price record was set in 2012 when annual Brent prices reached $111.63 per barrel.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) collects, analyses, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment. The EIA provides a wide range of information and data products covering energy production, stocks, demand, imports, exports, and prices; and prepares analyses and special reports on topics of current interest. (Source: www.eia.gov)

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is at the center of the global energy debate, and co-operates with a broad range of international organisations and forums working in the field of energy. Its central role was the reason it was picked to host a number of multi-lateral organisations at its headquarters in Paris, including the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) Secretariat and the Energy Efficiency Hub. The IEA was also picked to be the facilitator for the BioFuture Platform. The IEA also supports energy-related work of the Group of 20 (G20), Group of Seven (G7) and Group of Eight (G8), as well as Mission Innovation. The IEA also plays an active role in discussions with producer economies and with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), particularly within the International Energy Forum (IEF). The IEA also regularly advises in expert discussions at the Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). On statistics, the IEA is a founding partner of the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI), working alongside APEC, the Statistical Office of the European Communities (EUROSTAT), the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), the Latin American Energy Organisation (OLADE), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), OPEC and IEF. The IEA also works closely with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to maintain a joint database of renewable energy policies and measures. Regionally, the IEA also collaborates with organisations such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the African Union (AU) to promote regional energy co-operation. (Source: www.iea.org/)

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, created at the Baghdad Conference on September 10–14, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The five Founding Members were later joined by: Qatar (1961) – terminated its membership in January 2019; Indonesia (1962) – suspended its membership in January 2009, reactivated it in January 2016, but decided to suspend it again in November 2016; Libya (1962); United Arab Emirates (1967); Algeria (1969); Nigeria (1971); Ecuador (1973) – suspended its membership in December 1992, reactivated it in October 2007, but decided to withdraw its membership effective 1 January 2020; Angola (2007); Gabon (1975) - terminated its membership in January 1995 but rejoined in July 2016; Equatorial Guinea (2017); and Congo (2018). OPEC had its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in the first five years of its existence. This was moved to Vienna, Austria, on September 1, 1965. (Source: www.opec.org)

Crude Oil

Daily Crude Oil Price (US$/bbl)

Crude Oil Prices Trend (2011 ~ 2024)

Crude

OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin (ASB)

A Peak by 2030 for each of the Fossil Fuels

Energy-related CO2 emissions fall across all AEO2023 cases

Top 10 Countries With Largest Oil Reserves

World Crude Oil Reserves

Crude Exploration and development Cost

Density and Sulfur Contents

Taxes on Oil

Why Breakeven Prices Are Plunging Across The Oil Industry

44 Things You Didn’t Know About Oil

Institute

Crude Oil Discovery

Crude Oil Impact on Supply-Demand Balane

Weekly U.S. Oil Production (Source: Oil Price)

World Energy Balances