At the current rate of consumption, how long will it take for all the known oil supplies to dry up?

Answer 1

The experts believe that we have only enough for another 40 years.

Answer 2

People have been predicting the end of the oil supply, starting about a week after it was first discovered.

Technology advances keep the oil coming. And, it seems like the idea that oil is a fossil fuel may be incorrect. Some scientists now think that oil is produced deep in the earth's mantle. This would explain why some oil fields in Pennsylvania and the Gulf of Mexico, thought to be tapped out, seem to be refilling.

And think about it. Do you really think that the current rate of production, something close to ONE HUNDRED MILLION BARRELS A DAY, was all created by past animal and plant life? Doesn't make sense, does it?

Answer 3

Given that the earth is not transparent, nobody really knows. However, it's not the greatest crisis we could imagine. We're incredibly clever at figuring our way around shortages of everything but common sense. As supplies diminish, the stuff will become progressively harder to extract and thus more expensive. At some point it becomes cheaper to reduce our consumption by using other sources of energy or modifying our consumption in other ways.

There being an unfortunate lack of hydrogen wells, I'm afraid that hydrogen is unlikely to be a solution to any of this, not that you were asking.

Answer 4

It is going to be a lot longer than 40 years with newer reserves being found everyday, newer technology to extract the oil and the price of a barrel of oil will play a big part on extraction of oil as some oil reserves are not worth tapping into especially when oil was in the $30US/barrel.

As well, with Alberta Canada having the 4th largest oil Reserve in the world just getting started to be tapped into with the Tar Sands in Fort McMurray and the Foothills oil reserves along the Rocky mountians.

My predictions is that we will not run out of oil, the human race will design alternate fuel source (hydrogen, electric, etc.)

Answer 5

I have been hearing that we only have 20 years worth of oil left since I was in high school (forty years ago). The fact is, we just don't know. Logic tells us it must run out someday, but we just can't predict when it will be.

Clovis B, the predictions I am talking about were also based on government figures. The truth is, the government never found or produced a single barrel of oil so why would they know anything about this.

Answer 6

Oooh, brave question. Depends on who you ask.

Most folks on the left of the establishment will tell you 20 years, max, those on the right and in big business will say we haven't even reached peak oil yet, so there's still decades before we even see a decline.

Personally, I think you should make up your own mind by doing the research and taking all the global events these days in context.

Start at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil

and work your way out from there, and resign yourself to, whatever your opinion turns out to be, some people are gonna hate ya for it.

Answer 7

Current world consumption of crude oil is 82.5 million barrels per day according to the US Department of Energy.

Proven reserves of oil in the world are 1.28 trillion barrels, according to the US Department of Energy. Do the arithmetic:

1,280,000,000,000 bbl / 82,500,000 bbl per day = 15,515 days

15,515 / 365 days per year = 42.5 years until we run out of oil
according to the US Government.

-Assuming the small discoveries are offset by the increase in consumption (which is not true since consumption far outpaces discoveries... 42.5 years is highly optomistic)

Stop talking hearsay. Just do the math using the US government's official numbers.

Answer 8

I've heard 50 years, 100 years. I do have one thing that is pretty sure. In 50 years i am pretty sure we will have a alternative no question. If we don't, we deserve to walk. More than likely, it will be hydrogen. Who knows, can't predict the future. One thing for certain, oil will not keep us for that much longer.

Answer 9

i read somewhere that it'll all last some 40 years or so, but that's good. with no more oil, we'll have to turn to pullution-free sources of energy. yipee!!