How long does it take for oil to run out of our lives
Fossil fuels are the world’s primary source of energy, and underpin much of modern civilization as we know it, from transportation to industrial applications. However, as resources are limited, it is clear that this model cannot continue forever.
As our lives currently depend on the availability of oil, coal and gas, and we will continue to do so for the foreseeable future due to the rapid adoption,
In all likelihood, fossil fuels are not about to run out anytime soon. There are now more fossil fuel reserves available than ever before, despite record high consumption with dire consequences for climate change.
This fuel is formed over a long period of time from the remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. Humans have been using them in large quantities since the 19th century and with our current rate of consumption, fossil fuel resources are depleted faster and are “non-renewable”.
In the 1950s, geologist M. King Hubbert predicted that the world would experience an economically devastating scarcity of fossil fuels.
This idea has remained in the collective consciousness as the peak oil theory, according to which oil production as a finite resource will peak at some point, then eventually decline and deplete.
And according to some researchers, including Hubert, peak oil is already behind us, and we’re in a downturn. However, more recent data seems to paint a different picture, with fossil fuel reserves growing in abundance rather than declining.
At current production rates, oil will run out in 53 years, natural gas in 54 years, and coal in 110 years, according to estimates from the 2015 Global Energy Outlook study by the International Energy Agency.
These projections are based on the assumption that fossil fuels will account for 59% of total primary energy demand in 2040, even despite aggressive climate action policies.
Other researchers, organizations and governments have different deadlines for fossil fuel depletion, depending on the data and assumptions they make, as well as political affiliation and interests.
The American Petroleum Institute estimated in 1999 that global oil supplies will run out between 2062 and 2094, assuming that total global oil reserves will be between 1.4 and 2 trillion barrels.
But in 2006, Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), a specialist in energy markets, predicted that 3.74 trillion barrels of oil remained on the ground – three times the number estimated by proponents of peak oil.
Depending on the question, you may get widely different estimates of fossil fuel reserves. However, everyone seems to agree that we still have at least many decades to go before these resources run out even with today’s voracious energy consumption.
