Oil and Gas Production in the Long Term

Abstract

At the beginning of the century's third decade, at a time when there is growing concern around global warming and climate change, it is useful to consider the long-term global demand for oil and natural gas. This chapter begins by considering the global demand for energy projected to 2040. Although strong growth will continue in the coming decades, it is expected that the energy derived from coal will flatten, while natural gas and renewable energy sources will largely meet the growth demands. We then consider how the demand for crude oil and gas will be expected to change over the coming two decades. Despite the widespread introduction of electric cars in many countries, the demand for oil in developing countries will increase as the world's fleet of road vehicles will rise from 1350 million in 2017 to an estimated 2 billion by 2040. Despite much work being driven by society to address global warming and climate change, the demand for oil and gas will continue unabated over the coming decades. The demand for good, innovative petroleum engineers will continue well into the middle of this century, and probably beyond.