Oil! That dark, viscous stuff that makes the world go round — or at the very least greases the great wheels of industry. Oil is so ingrained in the modern world — from fueling your trip to the supermarket to powering armies — that it's hard to wrap your mind around its enormous impact. Here, for some useful context, are some stats about the world's leading source of power:
200,000
Miles of oil pipelines the U.S. has within its borders. For comparison, the distance from New York to Los Angeles is about 2,778 miles, and there are 160,000 miles of highways in the National Highway System.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
42
Gallons per barrel of oil.
19
Gallons of motor gasoline derived from one barrel of crude oil. The remainder yields distillate and residual fuel oils, jet fuel, and other products.
19.64
Pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced from burning a gallon of gasoline that does not contain ethanol.
8.95 million
Barrels of oil Saudi Arabia produced each day, on average, in 2012.
$4.11
The highest average retail price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S., recorded on July 7, 2008.
13 cents
Lowest-ever price per gallon in the U.S., recorded during a pricing war in Missouri in 1951.
5,000
Years oil has been used by people. Its original use: Treating frostbite and gout.
2,500
Years ago that crude oil was first pumped from the ground in Sichuan, China.
90 million
The world's total daily demand for oil in barrels, on average so far in 2013 (including projections).
3.5 million
Africa's total daily demand for oil in barrels, on average so far in 2013.
30.4 million
The Americas' total daily demand for oil in barrels, on average so far in 2013.
18.7 million
Barrels of oil the U.S. consumes each day.
2.3 million
Barrels of oil Canada consumes each day.
$1.4 trillion
Oil baron J.D. Rockefeller’s adjusted net worth at the time of his death.
16 billion
Barrels of oil the Trans-Alaska Pipeline has shipped since it was built in 1977.
4.2 million
Barrels of oil the Deepwater Horizon oil spill leaked into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
Sources: The U.S. Energy Information Administration, InvestingAnswers, EDF Energy, the IEA's Oil Market Report, Feb 2013
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
Why is the government on the brink of a shutdown?Today's Big Question GOP infighting is bringing the country to a standstill, but even Republicans aren't entirely sure why
-
Today’s political cartoons — September 29, 2023
Friday's cartoons - Biden's dog bite incident, the government shutdown and more
-
'A teetering democracy of gerontocrats?'
Instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
