Petroleum supply in the usa Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Petroleum supply in the usa - Term Paper Example According to the energy sector of the United States, petroleum products meets about 40 % of the Americans needs and wants. Most of the American citizens worry about the harzoudous effects of oil on the environment and they would like the nation to keep moving and acquiring more sustainable oil sources. Additionally, there is controversy over the political stage management and the sources of the American oil, which is vital in meeting the demands of oil in the American state (Wisegeek.com, 1). In more than 200 million years, formation of oil beneath the surface of the earth occurs continuously. However, in 200 years time, the rate of consumption of the oil formed beneath the surface of the earth is high. Research done shows that in 40 years to come, depletion of the oil resources remaining would occur. The United States would still have other fossil oil like shale, oil, coal, tar, sands and natural gas. This means that even if depletion of all the oil resources occurs in the United States, they would still have other fossil fuels that would earn them capital. United States do not only depend on the sale of oil as their only source of income but they have other sources. However, most of these energy resources are too expensive and the process of converting them to transportable fuels for use would cause harm to the environment as they produce harmful emissions to the surroundings (Glass, 5). Between the year 1950 and 1970, the world demand for oil has increased from 11 million barrels to 57 barrel respectively. The United States consumes almost 20.7 barrels of oil, which is the most compared to other countries, which are the five next largest consumers of oil, which Germany, Japan, Russia, China and India. The United States remains the largest consumer of oil even though the world demand for oil has increased as the economies of China and India has developed (Wright, 1). In the year 2009, refineries used an