Today’s petroleum industry:

During 2005, petroleum fossil fuels met about 80 per cent of the world’s demand for transportation fuels and nearly half the world’s primary energy demand. Petrol, diesel, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) and CNG (compressed natural gas) are the most common petroleum products used in cars, trucks, trains and buses. In many parts of the world, petroleum fuels are used in power stations to generate electricity for industries and for providing heating and air conditioning needs. Kerosene and LPG are bottled and used in homes in some parts of the world for cooking and heating.

Petroleum and natural gas are Australia’s two most valuable resource exports. Crude oil accounted for about 35 per cent of Australia’s primary energy consumption in 2004/2005, according to The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Natural gas sources filled 19 per cent of primary energy needs in Australia. Western Australia has risen to prominence as Australia’s leading oil-producing state. In 2005, Western Australia had 67 producing oil fields and led the nation in gas and LNG (liquefied natural gas) production. Petroleum (crude oil, condensate and natural gas) had become the leading contributor to the state’s resources sector. Crude oil and condensate production averaged 0.052 gigalitres per day (328,000 barrels per day). Average gas production was 0.072 giga cubic metres per day. Petroleum products accounted for more than one third of the value of WA’s mineral and energy production.

However, the oil and gas industry is at the cusp of significant change, with a number of countries believed to have passed their oil production peak, signalling an impending tightening of supply in the coming decades. While no-one is certain, some believe that at our present rate of consumption, the world has around 50 years of crude oil and more than 70 years of natural gas reserves. In recent decades, Australia has been around 80% to 85% net self-sufficient in oil, but this will fall to around 50% by 2020, according to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The Western Australian Office of Energy predicts that our state’s crude oil and condensate will sustain a further 25 years’ consumption at current production levels.
 
Large regions that are offshore Australia remain lightly explored, so there is a real chance of finding a new petroleum province. While some experts predict an imminent world oil shortage, other researchers say that significant, new oil fields will be discovered, particularly in Russia, the Caspian, Brazil, Angola and Canada.

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