Oil

This chapter describes the journey oil takes from deep in the earth until it reaches consumers in a wide range of products from plastics to motor vehicle fuels to fertilizers and pesticides. The sojourn starts with exploration and the development of oil wells onshore and offshore, the refining and transportation of oil products, and the use of enhanced recovery methods to get the most out of oil fields. The adequacy of oil reserves to continue to fuel our economy, the potential of nonconventional oil sources, and alternative motor vehicle fuel substitutes are covered. The chapter ends with a discussion of the geopolitical aspects of oil with a call to internalize an externality called oil security.