The oil industry is the leading branch of the global fuel and energy industry. It has a very strong influence on the entire world economy, and on world politics. In addition, oil is used not only as a source of energy, but also as an important raw material for the chemical industry.
Oil has been known to man since ancient times. And its use for lighting, heating, making medicines in ancient times was mentioned by Herodotus and Plutarch. However, commercial oil production actually began only in the middle of the 19th century, and simultaneously in the USA, Russia and Romania. But its products were again used only for lighting and less often for heating. And only at the beginning of the XX century. there was a demand for gasoline, and then for diesel fuel, which began to switch first to the naval, and then to merchant navy. That is why world oil production began to increase quite rapidly, exceeding by the middle of the 20th century. 500 million tons. At the same time, the struggle of the great powers for the possession of oil resources intensified, most openly manifested during the years of the two world wars.
Turning to the analysis of world oil production, we restrict ourselves to the period of the second half of the 20th and early 21st centuries. (Fig. 31).
The first conclusion that follows from the analysis of this figure is that there has been a significant increase in world oil production, the volume of which has increased by more than 7.6 times over 56 years. Such growth is quite understandable. It is associated with a constant increase in demand for this type of PER, with the discovery of many new large and largest oil basins in virtually all parts of the world. Of course, one must also take into account the development of oil and gas areas of the continental shelf, which in 1950 produced less than 1/10 of all oil produced in the world, and now almost 1/3. For the United States, this figure is 30%, and it is expected that of the oil resources that can still be found on the territory of the country, more than half will be on the shelf. You can read more about "offshore oil" in the "Geographical Picture of the World".
The second conclusion from Fig. 31 also suggests itself - this growth was by no means uniform. At first he was really progressive, but then it became

The impact of the energy (oil) crisis of the mid-1970s, which led to a strong rise in the price of oil on the world market, can be seen. When the consequences of the crisis were overcome, relative stabilization set in, and only in the 1990s, production began to increase again, reaching a record high level in 2005. But, by the way, in 2006 it remained at the same level, and in 2007 it rose to 4.15 billion tons.
When studying the dynamics of world oil production, you should clearly understand how big the oil price policy, which is carried out by the member countries of OPEC, as well as the largest oil transnational corporations, has on it. If you follow the media - print, radio, television, you could not help but pay attention to the fact that they all constantly report on how the price of oil changes on world markets, which is usually determined in dollars per barrel (159 k) and every competent economic geographer should know it.
Let me remind you that before the start of the Arab-Israeli conflict in 1973, a barrel of reference Arab oil cost only about $ 2. After the announcement

Western countries of the “oil war”, its price immediately jumped to 10-11 dollars, and by 1980 - up to 35 dollars. Then, under the influence of response measures taken by oil-importing countries, which were aimed primarily at reducing energy (oil) In terms of GDP, the price for 1 barrel dropped again to $13-14. In the 90s, it remained relatively stable at $15-20, but at the beginning of the 21st century. began to increase again, amounting to $28 per barrel in 2000, $38 in 2004, $53 in 2005, $68 in 2006, and almost $80 in 2007 , per barrel. At the end of the same year, it reached $100 per barrel. You understand that such a jump in prices is very beneficial for the OPEC countries, Mexico, Russia, as it increases the flow of petrodollars to these countries.
We have already said that no other industry is as closely connected with politics and international relations as the oil industry. And on the example of the dynamics of world oil production, which we are now considering, this thesis can also be proved. Use Fig. for this. 32, which shows which armed conflicts and aggravations of international relations were associated with oil price hikes. Let us add that the record of summer 2006 - $80 per barrel - is a reaction to yet another armed conflict between Israel and Lebanon. However, from Fig. It also follows from Table 32 that in some cases the root cause of an increase in oil prices may be a change in the economic situation or climatic conditions (especially warm winter 2006-2007). Let us add that by the end of 2007 the price of a barrel of oil rose to $90, and then to $100. One of the consequences of this was the increase in the price of gasoline at our filling stations. In the summer of 2008, it rose to $145, but by the end of the year, under the influence of the crisis, it dropped to $40.
Now let us turn to the question of the main features of the geography of world oil production. Perhaps its main feature lies in the very high proportion of the countries of the South. In turn, this share is usually judged by the OPEC member countries, which determine oil production quotas for themselves and try to regulate its supply to the world market. In 2005, the total oil production of the OPEC countries exceeded 1.6 billion tons per year, or about 42% of the world. But if we take into account that other countries of the South that are not members of OPEC (Mexico, Brazil, China, Angola, Egypt, etc.) also have large oil production, then the total share of the countries of the South will increase to 66% (compared to 19% in the countries North and 15% in countries with economies in transition).

But it was not always so. If we analyze Table. 15, showing oil production in major regions of the world, certain conclusions can be drawn.
Table 15
Distribution of oil production between major regions of the world in 1950-2005

Regions	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	2005
USSR/CIS	40	150	350	/>605	570	395	575
Foreign Europe	18	30	35	150	230	330	265
Overseas Asia	95	295	770	1165	1150	1455	1570
Africa	2	15	290	270	330	375	467
North America	270	375	545	500	510	480	455
Latin America	110	195	270	290	360	520	538
Australia and Oceania	-	-	10	20	30	35	30 ‘

At the beginning of the period under review, the leader of the world oil industry was North America, which in 1950 accounted for more than 50% of the total production of this type of fuel. But already in 1970, its share halved, and then decreased even more, which is associated with the depletion (and reservation) of explored reserves in the context of a rapid increase in oil consumption. To complete the characterization of the Western Hemisphere, let us add that Latin America, which at first slightly lagged behind North America, continued to increase production, and at the beginning of the 21st century. managed to overtake her. In the Eastern Hemisphere, the former USSR attracts attention, where the main increase in production occurred in the 70-80s. In connection with the discovery and development of oil fields Western Siberia. But in the crisis of the 1990s, oil production in the CIS countries dropped sharply, and only at the beginning of the 21st century. its new, and quite fast, growth was designated. In foreign Europe, the jump in oil production occurred in the 70-90s, which is primarily due to the discovery and development of the oil and gas basin of the North Sea; but at the beginning of the XXI century. production began to decline. In Africa, the turning point came as early as the 1960s, when the oil resources of Libya and Nigeria began to be developed, and production increased in Algeria, Egypt and some other countries. But - as in many other cases - (/i7i 39 50)
teas - the oil industry of foreign Asia developed most rapidly, which came out on top in terms of production in the early 60s. She retains this place to this day (Fig. 33).
Along with the regional, in this case, a subregional approach is also often used, highlighting the oil-rich countries of the Middle East or (without North Africa) Southwest Asia, and even more often the countries of the Persian Gulf.
When talking about the Gulf countries, they mean eight countries (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain and Oman), which together occupy 4.6 million square meters. km with a population of 125 million people.
You already have some idea about this group of countries. In Topic 4, we talked about the Persian Gulf oil and gas basin, which is tectonically connected to the Arabian Plateau and the Mesopotamian Foredeep, where sedimentary oil and gas deposits are up to 8 km thick and are especially distinguished by the presence of giant and unique deposits. This basin stands out both in terms of the quality of oil (light and low-sulfur), and in terms of the flow rate of flowing oil wells, which is measured in thousands of tons per day, and in terms of extremely low production costs (4-7 dollars per 1 ton, while in the USA - 60- 80 dollars), and the largest provision with oil resources. In Topic 5, we already touched on the issue of the 10 million immigrant workers in the Gulf countries who, in fact, extract oil here. And in topic 7, we already paid attention to the fact that the top ten countries with the highest share of industry in the structure of GDP include five countries of the Persian

Rice. 33. Share of individual regions in world oil production, 2005

gulf. They also noted the political instability of the countries of this group, which the United States included in the "zone of its vital interests."
To complete this description, it remains to add that in 2006 the total oil production in the eight countries of the Persian Gulf was at the level of almost 1200 million tons, amounting to more than 30% of the world. Consequently, this basin remains the largest in the world, largely determining the state and course of development of the entire oil industry, as well as oil geopolitics.
After considering the geography of world oil production by large regions, we turn to the characteristics of the oil-producing countries of the world. First of all, we note that if at the beginning of the 20th century. there were only 20 such countries, and in 1940 there were 40, then in 1970 there were already 60, in 1990 - 80, and today there are about 100. Of course, we will highlight only the most important of them. But this time we will not limit ourselves to the top five, but will name all the countries producing more than 100 million tons of oil per year (Table 16).
Table 16
Top oil producing countries in the world in 2007

It is easy to see that of the 12 countries included in Table. 16, 6 are members of OPEC, 3 represent economically developed countries of the West, 2 - key developing countries and 1 (Russia) - post-socialist countries.
I would especially like to note the rapid growth of oil production in Russia, which began at the beginning of the 21st century, as a result of which it managed to overtake Saudi Arabia and come out on top in the world. We note in passing that in Mexico - almost all, and in Venezuela and the United Arab Emirates - the main part of the production is provided by "offshore oil". In the future, its share may increase even more due to the transition to the development

deeper deposits of the continental shelf - primarily in the USA (Gulf of Mexico), Russia (Barents Sea).
In passing, we note one more new pattern of world oil production - as the number of producing countries increased, the share of leading countries began to decrease. So, in 2007, the share of the first three oil-producing countries accounted for 32.5% of the total production (in 1950 - 74%), the share of the first five countries - 41.5% (in 1950 - 85%), and ten first - 60% (in 1950 -94%).
So far, we have considered the size and geography of world oil production. Let us now recall that there are very large differences between the geography of production and the geography of consumption of this type of fuel. It has already been said above that the decisive role in world oil production belongs to developing countries (66%). However, their share in world consumption is much lower and amounts to 32% (and without China - 24%). The share of countries with economies in transition also turns out to be almost twice as low as in world production - only 8%. But the share of economically developed countries The West, which accounts for only 19% of world production, increases by more than 3 times - up to 60%. This group also includes individual countries that stand out in terms of annual oil consumption: the United States (950 million tons, or 1/4 of the world), Japan (250), Germany (125), the Republic of Korea (105 million tons). Of the developing countries, only China (325 million tons - second place after the USA) and India (120 million tons) can be attributed to the group of leaders. And of the countries with economies in transition - only Russia (150 million tons). Characteristically, the OPEC member countries, which, as we have already noted, produce 42% of all oil, play the role of outsiders in its consumption (7%, which is comparable to the share of Japan alone).
Comparison of all these figures indicates the presence of a huge territorial gap between the main areas and countries of oil production and consumption, which, as you understand, is overcome with the help of foreign trade and international transportation.
Only in 1986-2006. the share of produced oil entering foreign trade channels increased from 45 to 56%, having already exceeded 2.2 billion tons in total volume. This number includes another 650 million tons of oil products.

These oil products are obtained at oil refineries (refineries), the total number of which in the world exceeds 600, and the capacity is 4 billion tons. During most of the 20th century. It was believed that it is more profitable to locate refineries in areas where oil fuel is consumed. Therefore, back in 1950, 3/4 of all world oil refining capacities were located in North America, and the rest were distributed among foreign Europe, the USSR and the Middle East. However, in the 1980s and 1990s, the opposite trend began to be more clearly seen - to process crude oil in the areas of its production, and transport oil products, which is explained both by the interests of the industrialization of developing countries and by the desire of oil transnational corporations to reduce the impact of one of the "dirty" industries on the environment their parent countries. Thus began the constant drift of oil refining from North to South and from West to East. Today, more than 40% of all refinery capacities are concentrated in developing countries, which have become major suppliers of not only crude oil, but also petroleum products. Of the individual regions of the world, North America (25%), foreign Europe (20%), but to an even greater extent foreign Asia (34%) stand out in terms of refinery capacity.
After all these clarifications, we can move on to a specific consideration of the international trade in oil and petroleum products. To do this, we first try to identify the main exporting countries and importing countries (Table 17).
Table 17
The main countries - exporters and importers of oil and oil products
in 2006*

*In which exports and imports are 100 million tons or more.
If we keep in mind that the total annual export of oil and oil products exceeds 2.2 billion tons, then it is not difficult to calculate that the seven main exporting countries provide it by 55%.

Topic 8. Geography of branches of the world economy. Industry of the world (lectures 39-50)
As expected, they are dominated by developing countries - members of OPEC. Western countries in this list are represented only by Norway, and countries with economies in transition - by Russia. It can be added that Mexico, Kuwait, Canada, Angola, Libya and Kazakhstan also export from 50 to 100 million tons of oil annually. As for the share of exported oil in relation to total production, here the countries of the Persian Gulf are again, as they say, "ahead of the rest": in Iraq this share is 100%, in Iran and the United Arab Emirates - 80%, in Saudi Arabia - 75%, in Kuwait - 55%. This is why the Gulf countries make more than $150 billion a year from oil sales.
According to Table. 17, the list of the main importing countries for oil and oil products includes only economically developed countries with the addition of China and India. In addition, from 50 to 100 million tons are also imported annually by Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Great Britain and Singapore. In most of them, the absolute size of oil imports has recently remained relatively stable, but there are two exceptions - the United States and China. If in the United States in 1950 imported oil accounted for only 9% of domestic consumption of this type of fuel, then in 1980 it was already 32%, and today it is 58%. China also lacks its oil and is increasing its imports. />After that, we can begin to consider an issue that is even more geographical in nature - about the main cargo flows of oil cargo. Within certain large regions of the world, these goods are transported mainly by main oil pipelines linking, for example, Russia with foreign Europe, Canada - with the United States. And to overcome the territorial gap between regions, they use sea transportation, which is characterized by low cost.
However, the directions of such transportation have changed over time. Before the Second World War, the main sea cargo flows of oil were sent from North (USA) and Latin (Venezuela) America to Western Europe. Since the 50s of the XX century. Cargo flows from the Persian Gulf to Western Europe, Japan, and then to the USA constantly increased. There were also large cargo flows from Northern

Africa to Western Europe, from Western Africa to the USA and Western Europe, from Indonesia to Japan. In general, we can say that, to one degree or another, they all exist today (Fig. 34).
From this figure, you can easily identify the main sea "oil bridges" with the help of which the territorial gap between the continents is overcome in the world oil industry: the Persian Gulf - Japan, China and the Republic of Korea; Persian Gulf - foreign Europe; Persian Gulf - USA; Southeast Asia - Japan, China and the Republic of Korea; Caribbean - USA; North Africa - foreign Europe; West Africa - foreign Europe; West Africa - USA, Latin America.
To this list it remains to add the main land "bridge" connecting Russia with the countries of foreign Europe and the CIS countries. Today, Russia is not only the largest producer, but also the largest exporter of oil to the world market, and the rate of export exceeds the growth in production. In 2007, the country exported (mainly to non-CIS countries) almost 350 million tons of oil and oil products, receiving $160 billion for them, which ensured its main foreign exchange earnings. But this raises many questions. And about this: will Russia be able to maintain the same rate of growth in production and exports in the coming years? And about this: is it necessary to do this in the conditions of exhaustion of oil resources and the cold climate of Russia? The opinion was expressed in the press that it would be generally sufficient for Russia to export, say, 150 million tons of oil per year. On the other hand, it was the flow of petrodollars that made it possible to create the Stabilization Fund, Investment fund, to sharply increase the country's gold reserves, pay off foreign debts, and raise the salaries of state employees, scholarships for students and graduate students. In a word, this issue concerns not only foreign policy and macroeconomics, but concerns all Russians, including each of us.

test questions
one*. Tell us about the dynamics of world oil production over the past century. Explain why developing countries play a decisive role in world oil production, and economically developed countries in its consumption. Select the main oil-producing countries of the world, including the countries of the Persian Gulf. Describe the main features of the geography of foreign trade in oil and oil products and the main "oil bridges".

Oil industry is an industry National economy and consists of several production stages: exploration, drilling, oil production (offshore and onshore), its processing, storage, transportation and petrochemical production.

The oil industry includes the main stages:

• oil production
• transportation
• oil refining

In the fuel and energy industry, this branch is in first place. It has a huge impact on the world economy, and leaves a significant mark on world politics. Its difference is a large capital intensity.

Oil production on an industrial scale began in the middle of the 19th century in countries such as Russia, Romania, and the USA. And by the beginning of the 20th century, 20 countries of the world were already engaged in its production, but the United States, Russia, and Venezuela remained in the lead. By 1940 - 40 countries, by 1970. - already 60 countries, by 1990. and at all about 100. Of course, oil production as a whole has also increased. In the 1980s, a crisis occurred that significantly affected world oil prices. However, thanks to the policies of some oil-refining countries, mainly members of OPEC (the main regulator of prices in the world oil market), by the 1990s, the price level stabilized. It should be said that 40% of world production is controlled by 11 OPEC member countries.

The geography of this industry is determined by the countries of the "top ten", in most of them the oil industry ranks first in the economy, sometimes even being the only main international industry of specialization (Qatar, Iraq).

The geography of the oil industry has a significant distinguishing feature - the share of developing countries accounts for more than 4/5 of all reserves and ½ of total oil production.

The largest oil exporters are countries that are members of OPEC. These include Saudi Arabia, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Ecuador, Algeria, Russia, Iran, Nigeria, Norway, Mexico, Venezuela, Kuwait and Canada. Central and South America, Western and North America are regions whose economy is mainly based on the export of produced oil. 50% of the specific weight of the total volume of world oil exports falls on members of OPEC.

About 40% of all world oil produced goes to international trade. The regions of production and consumption are not always located nearby, there is a significant territorial gap between them. Powerful ocean freight traffic is a created measure to overcome the problem that has arisen.

Major oil ports The Persian Gulf gives rise to the main ocean cargo flows of oil, and their route lies in Western Europe and Japan. Latin American countries (Mexico, Venezuela) give rise to somewhat smaller oil flows and lead to Western Europe and the USA. The Russian oil pipeline "Druzhba" plays a major role in the oil supply of Eastern European countries.

Most of the world's oil concentrated in the Near and Middle East, Asia, Kazakhstan and Western Siberia. North and South America, as well as the North Sea, have the largest oil fields.

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• Introduction
• 1. World oil reserves
• 1.1 Problems of oil-producing regions
• 1.2 Field development
• 1.3 Field exploitation
• 1.4 Liquidation of depleted oilfields
• 1.5 Transportation of crude oil
• 1.6 Crude oil refining
• 1.7 Transportation of petroleum products
• 1.8 Sales and consumption of petroleum products
• 2. Peculiarities of pricing for petroleum products
• Conclusion
• List of used literature

Introduction

The oil industry today is a large national economic complex that lives and develops according to its own laws. Crude oil is the most traded commodity in the world. What does oil mean today for the national economy of the country?

These are: raw materials for petrochemicals in the production of synthetic rubber, alcohols, polyethylene, polypropylene, a wide range of various plastics and finished products from them, artificial fabrics; a source for the production of motor fuels (gasoline, kerosene, diesel and jet fuels), oils and lubricants, as well as boiler and furnace fuel (fuel oil), building materials(bitumen, tar, asphalt); raw material for obtaining a number of protein preparations. oil product transportation processing pricing

Oil occupies a leading position in the global fuel and energy balance: its share in the total consumption of energy resources is 48%. Due to the rapid development of the chemical and petrochemical industry in the world, the need for oil is increasing every year.

No problem, perhaps, worries humanity today as much as fuel: despite the fact that in its evolutionary development, humanity begins to use all new types of resources (atomic and geothermal energy, solar, tidal hydropower, wind and other non-traditional sources ), yet the main role in providing energy to all sectors of the economy today is played by fuel resources - oil.

The role of oil in politics is also great. Regulation of oil supplies to neighboring countries is, in fact, an important argument in the dialogue with the new states.

Oil is Russia's wealth. The oil industry of the Russian Federation is closely connected with all sectors of the national economy, is of great importance for the Russian economy, and is also an integral part of the fuel and energy complex - a diversified system that includes the extraction and production of fuel, energy production (electrical and thermal), energy distribution and transport and fuel.

Demand for oil always outstrips supply, therefore, practically all developed countries of the world are interested in the successful development of our oil industry.

The purpose of our work is to consider the oil industry as well as its role in the global economy. We were tasked with studying:

world oil reserves;

problems of oil-producing regions;

pricing features. .

The relevance of the chosen topic lies in the fact that in the near future there is nothing to replace oil. Global demand will grow by 1.5 percent a year, and supply will not change significantly. A number of experts do not rule out the possibility of another energy crisis soon.

1. World oil reserves

A necessary condition for the implementation of large-scale long-term investments in the oil industry, subject to favorable prospects for oil demand in the world market, is the availability of appropriate geological oil reserves, both in a particular region and in the world as a whole.

Estimation of geological reserves of oil in the bowels of the earth is always approximate. Its accuracy depends on many reasons and, above all, on the degree of geological knowledge of the territory, the scale of prospecting and exploration work already carried out, the criteria and methods used in processing the results of field studies, as well as often on general economic, political and even social factors, sometimes forcing individual firms and even countries publish intentionally overestimated or, conversely, underestimated their natural resource reserves.

The necessary scale of geological prospecting and exploration work is determined primarily by the steadily growing demand for oil, the long-term dynamics of world oil prices, as well as, of course, the availability of relevant deposits, and in recent decades, the extremely rapid development of new more effective technologies their exploration and subsequent oil production.

The term "proven reserves" used in international sources for all countries except the CIS defines the identified geological reserves that can be extracted from the subsoil at the appropriate world oil prices and the level of technology used, that is, on the condition that their extraction will be economically justified. Reserves are estimated differently in the CIS countries, where, as a rule, data are given on "explored reserves" without taking into account any economic component.

The provision of a country with geological reserves of certain minerals, including oil, is most often estimated by the number of years during which these reserves can be exhausted at the already achieved level of production. However, it should be noted that this, in principle, a very important indicator is not static in nature, fatally determining the period of complete exhaustion of natural reserves in a particular country or in the world as a whole, but dynamic, characterizing the ratio of the degree of real geological exploration of the corresponding territory and deposits, on the one hand, the rates and volumes of mineral extraction from year to year in the future, on the other.

The above factors predetermine sometimes significant discrepancies in the assessment of statistical indicators on actual geological oil reserves published in various international and national publications. An analysis of these sources allows us to assert that the most reliable and complete statistics on probable oil reserves in 105 countries of the world are provided by the Oil and Gas Journal (OGJ), International Energy Agency, Minerals yearbook, All-Russian Geological Society.

It is extremely important that the world's total reliable in-place oil reserves, even with significant deviations in estimates for individual countries, have generally shown a steady upward trend over the past three decades. Thus, according to the latest OGJ data, proven world oil reserves are about 140 billion tons. The largest part of world reserves - about 64% - falls on the Near and Middle East. The second place is occupied by America, which accounts for about 15%

The countries richest in oil are Saudi Arabia (25% of proven world reserves), Iraq (10.8%), UAE (9.3%), Kuwait (9.2%), Iran (8.6%) and Venezuela ( 7.3%) - they are all members of OPEC, which accounts for about 78% of world reserves. The proven reserves of the CIS countries, including Russia, are about 6% of the world, the USA - about 3%, Norway - about 1%. Based on available estimates, at the current level of oil production, its world geological reserves will last at least 42 years, including in Saudi Arabia - for 83 years, Iran - 69 years, Venezuela - 58, Libya - 56, Mexico - 43, Russia - 22, China - 21, Algeria - 19, USA - 10, Norway - 9, Indonesia - 9 and UK - for 5 years

However, it is worth remembering that the above figures refer only to proven oil reserves, and do not include forecast and assumed data on their value. In addition, with the development of oil exploration and oil production technologies, exploration work makes it possible to give an increasingly accurate assessment of even the most inaccessible oil deposits, the value of reserves is constantly being adjusted.

There are different points of view regarding the long-term prospects for the development of the global oil industry in connection with its endowment with natural reserves. There are, among other things, radical assumptions that it will significantly lose its positions already in the first third of the 21st century and, in general, the current century will be a century of gas and coal. Indeed, the world's proven geological reserves and predicted gas resources significantly exceed the oil resource potential. However, the specific features of the use, in particular coal, from the standpoint of environmental problems, as you know, significantly narrow the scope of its application. The prevailing opinion today is that oil will continue to play a leading role as the most convenient and highly efficient energy carrier for many decades to come. The duration of the oil age can be estimated not only on the basis of analysis current state already reliably explored geological reserves, but also to a large extent taking into account predicted, but not yet discovered resources, of course, taking into account the rapidly developing progress in new methods of prospecting, exploration and the degree of extraction of oil from the earth's interior.

At the same time, oil, as you know, is a non-renewable resource, the reserves of which, even if in a very distant future, will sooner or later be exhausted. The key question in this regard is how to determine the specific point in time when the absolute reduction in natural oil reserves will have a real impact on its supply, on the world market and the corresponding satisfaction of demand.

According to some theories, the volume of world oil production may increase to a maximum in the next decade, although there are claims that the peak of world oil production has already been passed or it may happen in the very near future.

1.1 Problems of oil-producing regions

Problems in regions that are engaged in oil production and processing arise at all stages of project implementation: from the search for oil fields to the sale and consumption of petroleum products. Basically, these problems are social and environmental in nature. Let's consider the most important of them.

Exploration drilling.

In modern Russian conditions, exploratory drilling, as a rule, almost inevitably leads to littering of the site where it is carried out and its environs. A common problem is the disposal of drilling fluids. It becomes especially acute when working on the sea shelf, when the simplest and cheapest option is to dump them directly into the water. But the most serious problems arise in the case of accidents, the risk of which is especially high, in the absence of information about the reservoir parameters. In 1991, an oil gusher hit with enormous pressure in the Ferghana Valley. It was not possible to restore control over the well for more than a month. The amount of oil spilled on the surface of the earth amounted to several hundred thousand tons. Another dangerous feature of modern Russian conditions is the desire of small exploration companies in case of discovery of oil during its exploration, immediately start production, trying to earn money. Since everything is carried out according to temporary, very unreliable schemes, the risk of accidents and spills is very high.

1.2 Field development

If a deposit is discovered and its exploitation proves to be economically viable, a decision can be made to develop it. This means a radical change in the nature of the territories that fell into the zone of implementation of such a project. The construction of roads, sites for oil wells, pipelines for pumping oil is underway. All variants of anthropogenic impact are amplified many times over.

Due to the very high cost of work, companies, when choosing layouts for created objects, seek to minimize costs as much as possible. This regularly conflicts with restrictions caused by the need to protect nature or preserve social and cultural values. A sharp debate arises about the environmental safety of the chosen solutions. In the absence of an effective system of responsibility for environmental violations and disasters (for example, spills in which a huge amount of oil can enter the water), companies again seek to reduce costs and prefer the cheapest, albeit more environmentally hazardous options.

In any case, when building and setting up new equipment, the risk of accidents and associated environmental consequences will be higher. The most serious are oil spills. The mass arrival of visiting workers radically changes the social situation. The traditional way of life of the locals is strongly influenced by them, and, as a rule, begins to collapse.

1.3 Field exploitation

At the phase of exploitation of fields, the problem of "aging of equipment" arises, the likelihood of oil leaks increases, especially in intra-field and inter-field pipelines. The mining companies that own them are not interested in making such facts public and have every opportunity to hide them. Such accidents are publicized mainly in cases of particularly severe pollution, usually associated with the ingress of oil into surface waters, when it becomes impossible not to notice the problem.

One of the egregious examples of this kind is the spill of tens of thousands of tons of oil near Usinsk (Komi Republic). The local population was concerned about the severe pollution of Pechora, but neither the official authorities nor the companies reacted to this fact. The scandal began after the publication in the American press, which, when this spill was discovered, referred to space imagery data. Interestingly, before that, the loss of tens of thousands of tons of oil, worth several million dollars, persistently pumped into a rusted pipeline, and just as steadily flowing out, did not cause any particular concern to anyone.

1.4 Liquidation of depleted oilfields

Among the problems that are typical for this stage is the elimination of depleted wells (if they are simply abandoned, the residual release of oil can lead to pollution of both the earth's surface and soil and groundwater). There are no large-scale programs for cleaning up garbage and abandoned equipment, eliminating oil spills, reclaiming land, and bringing ecosystems to a state close to the original in our country due to economic unprofitability. In more developed countries, the accumulation of funds necessary for the maximum reconstruction of the natural environment after the end of oil production is carried out from the very beginning of the development of new fields.

1.5 Transportation of crude oil

After oil is produced, it must be delivered to consumers. For this, first of all, a pipeline system is used that can most efficiently transport such huge volumes.

During the construction of new main pipelines, problems may arise related to the choice of their route. Again, economic interests to make it as convenient and short as possible conflict with the inadmissibility of laying a pipe through areas of particular natural, historical or cultural value. A serious, although technically quite solvable problem is the environmental safety of the route used. Again, this comes down to additional costs.

Once the pipeline is built, the environmental problem associated with its operation is oil leaks, which, according to official figures, can reach several hundred tons. They mainly attract significant public attention when the result is serious surface water pollution. This happens almost every year. A significant part of Russian pipelines was built more than 20 years ago and is approaching the end of its design life, after which the risk of accidents will increase sharply. At the same time, modern diagnostics and repair, at least for a certain time, can solve this problem. Among the most serious recent accidents is the rupture of the Tuimazy-Omsk-Novosibirsk oil pipeline (1996), during which about 1000 tons of oil spilled into the Belaya River.

A significant component of the Russian oil transportation system is its transportation by tankers by water. A standard problem in the tanker fleet is the consequences of tanker accidents with large-scale spills directly into the water. Accidents can also occur at the oil terminals themselves. The most important strategic direction for reducing this kind of accidents is the choice of the location of the terminal. On the one hand, it should reduce the risk of accidents, and on the other hand, it should minimize the severity of possible consequences. Unfortunately, both of the largest projects of this kind currently being implemented in Russia do not meet these requirements.

1.6 Crude oil refining

A significant part of the oil produced in Russia goes to oil refineries (refineries). The most obvious environmental outcomes of their activities are planned pollution (emissions to air and water). From time to time, refineries provide local residents and the media with colorful pictures of accidents (huge flames, explosions, smoke, etc.).

However, a much more severe, though less well-known problem is waste stored in storage ponds and soil contamination from leaks. The result is obvious - poisoned groundwater that seeps into rivers, poisonous fumes into the air.

1.7 Transportation of petroleum products

Despite its similarity with the transportation of oil, the transportation of petroleum products has its own characteristics related to the fact that they are directly suitable for consumption, as well as flammable.

If the theft of oil from pipelines is mainly the specifics of the North Caucasus, where folk methods of its processing have reached a high technical level and significant volumes, then oil products from pipelines are stolen, or they are trying to steal everywhere. In fact, liquid money flows through the pipes, which you just need to extract from there. What is being done. Tapping into high-pressure pipelines naturally leads to numerous leaks. Unlike oil, oil products evaporate quite easily and the pollution of the same waters associated with them gradually turns into atmospheric pollution by itself. However, the easy volatility of petroleum products creates a new threat - not so much environmental as human safety.

1.8 Sales and consumption of petroleum products

Leaks into the ground can occur not only around the refinery, but also around any storage of oil and oil products. In Russia, the most well-known cases are the formation of large (up to several thousand tons) fuel lenses around the fuel storage facilities of military units.

2. Peculiarities of pricing for petroleum products

In terms of its scale, economic and political significance, the world oil trade is one of the most important elements of modern world economic relations. The volume of world oil trade in 2002 exceeded $415 billion, which accounted for about 3.8% of the total world trade.

All countries of the world, without exception, participate in export-import operations with oil. At the beginning of the 21st century, about half of the oil produced in the world passes through the channels of international trade. It accounts for more than 20% of the total export value of all developing countries. At the same time, for a number of the world's largest oil suppliers, its specific gravity in exports was always very significant and amounted, for example, to Nigeria - 95-96%, Angola - 91%, Iran and Oman - 88-90%, UAE - 78%, Saudi Arabia - 73%, Libya - 77%, Venezuela - 65%, Mexico - 33%, Indonesia - 24%. Characteristically, for the above developing countries, the share of oil in total exports has a steady upward trend.

Even for such an economically powerful industrial power as Great Britain, the export of oil in the last decade has been very important, bringing in more than 4% of export earnings, and for another major European exporter, Norway, even more - about 34%.

Oil prices (exchange and over-the-counter) are determined by two key factors - the current and expected supply/demand ratio and cost dynamics. Since there is no exact data on the current world balance of supply and demand for oil, oil traders are mainly guided by information about changes in oil stocks - strategic and industrial. Appropriate estimates appear in the weekly and monthly bulletins of some agencies. The most famous are the reviews of the American Petroleum Institute (API), the US Department of Energy (EIA) news agency and the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The growth of reserves is an indirect evidence in favor of the fact that the supply of oil exceeds demand and, as a rule, is accompanied by a fall in prices. The imbalance in the oil market arises mainly due to supply shocks, primarily from OPEC, while the average demand for oil is much higher. In particular, as numerous studies show, oil consumption is highly inelastic with respect to price over time intervals of less than one year. However, shocks to the consumption of goods can also cause significant price fluctuations. Strong short-term (daily, weekly and average monthly) fluctuations lead to the fact that when considering longer intervals - quarterly and annual - the relationship between the oil price and the balance of supply and demand is blurred. On monthly and quarterly time intervals, oil prices have a pronounced seasonal component, which is associated with fluctuations in demand. The largest oil consumers among the OECD countries (USA and Western Europe) are located in the northern hemisphere and actively use fuel oil for space heating. AT summer months On the contrary, the consumption of gasoline is growing. The difference between the maximum (December, February) and minimum (May) consumption of oil products by the OECD countries is about 4 million barrels. / day

In the long term, crude oil prices, in addition to the balance of supply and demand, are determined by the dynamics of the average global cost of production. On the one hand, the cost price is affected by inflation and the depletion of the resource base (leads to an increase in costs), and on the other hand, various technological improvements (reduce costs). As a result of the simultaneous action of many factors, the level of oil prices depends on its trajectory, and the “correct” level of oil prices is determined only in the medium term and can change both under the influence of shocks and long-term trends.

It is also very problematic to determine future prices due to the lack of real information for long-term planning among economic entities. “How can prices be determined when the main players do not have adequate data on world oil reserves? All serious information on oil has been removed from the information space. There are no clear real figures either on reserves or on oil production. For example, even the Russian government does not own real information on the volume of oil reserves and operates only with estimates of experts. And the point is not only that geological exploration is not being carried out in the required volume. Private companies own the numbers, but their real value is trade secret. The situation is similar in other producing countries. There are no data on the reserves of Venezuela. Information about the oil reserves of China, which is turning into one of the main consumers of hydrocarbons, is completely secret. Data for this country are based on estimates.

According to experts, the only thing that can "be said for sure" is that oil will rise in price. World oil consumption will skyrocket, and there will not be enough oil for everyone," they say. China, India and the Muslim countries of Southeast Asia are going to provide their population with a level of consumption comparable to Western standards. Accordingly, oil consumption by these countries will grow rapidly It is not clear who and how will provide these requests. Now the OPEC countries, which account for about a third of world production, are ready to increase production by only 2 million barrels per day. There are many consumers of oil - there is little oil itself, and there is nothing to replace it yet. In such a situation, events can develop only according to a tough military scenario. The goals of the war for resources are to eliminate "extra" consumers and control oil production areas and oil transportation routes. However, just look at the map of international conflicts. The war for these regions is already underway.

Conclusion

The oil complex currently provides a significant contribution to the formation of a positive trade balance and tax revenues to the budgets of all levels. This contribution is significantly higher than the share of the complex in industrial production.

The oil companies are making very large investments. In terms of growth rates, investments in oil production are more than 4 times higher than the industry average. But the industry's fixed assets are largely worn out, especially in oil refining. Overhaul in oil refining is almost equal to the volume of investments. Lack of investment in technical re-equipment increases the likelihood of man-made disasters. To increase oil production, as well as to modernize oil refining, the complex needs large investments. There are reasons to believe that in order to maintain and develop production, oil companies make much larger capital investments than are reflected in the statistical reporting.

According to the statements of the oil business leaders, as well as based on our economic calculations, the real volume of investments exceeds the volume recorded in the financial statements by about 30%. The reasons for the underestimation of investment in fixed assets lie in the overly burdensome Russian tax system and the general political and legal uncertainty of the activities of oil companies.

To modernize the oil complex in the next 5 years, it is necessary to invest in it, according to various estimates, 25-40 billion dollars. The most priority areas for investment in the oil complex in the near future are:

investments in oil transportation in export directions, including the Far East;

investments in the industrial infrastructure of oil production, including the pipe industry of oil companies;

With oil prices still high, Russian oil companies have the necessary resources to finance investment in fixed assets. The uniqueness of the situation is that large-scale attraction of direct Western investments in the complex is currently not required. However, any tightening in the global oil market may result in either the need for borrowing abroad, or failures in investing in the development of the industry.

List of used literature

1. Mazus M.M. Ecological problems of the oil industry. Bulletin of Moscow State University. Ser.6. 1999 №5

2. Abrosimov A.A. Ecology of hydrocarbon systems processing. M.: Chemistry. 2002.

3. Prices and pricing in a market economy. Part 2. Prices and market conditions. / ed. Esipova V.E. - St. Petersburg: publishing house SPbGUEF, 1998.

4. Journal "Economics of Russia: XXI century" No. 18

5. A. Konoplyanik. Where have reference prices gone? // Oil of Russia. 2000, №7

6. A. Konoplyanik. From direct counting to reverse // Oil of Russia. 2000, No. 8

7. http://www.cfin.ru

8. www.ruseconomy.ru

9. www.finansy.ru

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The world is an international industrial sector that provides for the exploration of oil and gas and oil fields, oil production, pipeline transport for minerals. Production, in turn, includes the development of deposits and other works.

It should be said that the oil industry in Russia is a highly developed industry. This is due to the geographical features of the country. Until 1992, Russia was in second place in the world in terms of explored reserves after Saudi Arabia. Russia's reserves today amount to about 20.2 billion tons. In 1991, they amounted to about 23.5 billion tons.

However, it has not developed as rapidly as in previous years. According to experts, there are reserves in the country with a too low degree of confirmation of predicted reserves. They significantly reduce the overall provision of Russia with natural reserves. In addition, there is a large proportion of deposits with high development and development costs. Of all the reserves available to the Russian oil industry, about 55% are highly productive.

Particular attention is paid by specialists to reserves, presumably located in Western Siberia. It is due to them that the main increase in the country's reserves by forty percent is predicted. However, even in this case, the oil industry will acquire mainly low-productivity fields. The amount that was supposed to be produced in the region is the limit of profitability for it.

It should be noted that the economic crisis affected not only the fuel and energy industries of individual countries, but also, as a result, oil in general.

It should be said that in Russia the decline began to be observed as early as 1989. Oil production has dropped significantly. The volume of oil produced even in the richest region - Tyumen region- decreased from 394 million tons to 307 million. The oil industry in the country today is characterized by a noticeable decrease in the growth of highly productive reserves, a deterioration in the quality of raw materials and a slowdown in exploration work at the fields. At the same time, experts note both a decrease in production drilling and an increase in the number of idle wells, a widespread transition to mechanized methods of field development against the backdrop of a sharp decrease in the number of flowing wells. Of no small importance are the absence to any extent of a significant reserve of large deposits, and the need to involve in the exploitation of reserves that are located in hard-to-reach and undeveloped areas.

The first wells in Russia were drilled in 1864 in the Kuban. At the same time, one of the wells gave a fountain of more than one hundred and ninety tons of flow rate per day. At that time, oil production was carried out to a greater extent by monopolies that depended on foreign capital. By the twentieth century, Russia began to take a leading position in the oil industry of the world. At the beginning of the century, oil production already accounted for about eleven million tons. During the civil war there was a significant decline. Later, by the thirties, oil production increased again to 11.6 million tons.

In the first years of the formation of Soviet power, the main deposits were located in the regions of the North Caucasus (Maikop, Grozny). However, it should be said that the war caused significant damage to these territories, which, in turn, significantly reduced the volume of production. In the postwar period, in parallel with the restoration of the North Caucasian deposits, large basins of the Volga-Ural region were put into development. By 1960, the percentage of production in these territories increased to seventy-one.

Introduction

The oil industry today is a large economic complex that lives and develops according to its own laws.

What does oil mean today for the economy of any country?

These are: raw materials for petrochemicals in the production of synthetic rubber, alcohols, polyethylene, polypropylene, a wide range of various plastics and finished products from them, artificial fabrics; a source for the production of motor fuels (gasoline, kerosene, diesel and jet fuels), oils and lubricants, as well as boiler and furnace fuel (fuel oil), building materials (bitumen, tar, asphalt); raw material for obtaining a number of protein preparations used as additives in livestock feed to stimulate its growth. Oil is the national wealth, the source of the country's power, the foundation of its economy.

Oil reserves in the world.

Proved oil reserves in the world are estimated at 140 billion tons, and annual production is about 3.5 billion tons. However, it is hardly worth predicting the onset of a global crisis in 40 years due to the depletion of oil in the bowels of the earth, because economic statistics operate with figures of proven reserves then there are reserves that are fully explored, described and estimated. And this is not all the reserves of the planet. Even within the limits of many explored deposits, unaccounted or not fully accounted for oil-bearing sectors remain, and how many deposits are still waiting for their discoverers.

Over the past two decades, mankind has scooped out more than 60 billion tons of oil from the bowels. Do you think proven reserves have decreased by the same amount? Nothing happened. If in 1977 the reserves were estimated at 90 billion tons, then in 1987 they were already at 120 billion, and by 1997 they had increased by another two tens of billions. The situation is paradoxical: the more you extract, the more remains. Meanwhile, this geological paradox does not at all seem to be an economic paradox. After all, the higher the demand for oil, the more it is produced, the more capital is poured into the industry, the more active oil exploration is, the more people, equipment, brains are involved in exploration and the faster new deposits are discovered and described. In addition, the improvement of oil production technology makes it possible to include in the composition of reserves that oil, the presence (and quantity) of which was previously known, but which could not be obtained at the technical level of past years. Of course, this does not mean that oil reserves are unlimited, but it is obvious that humanity has more than one forty years to improve energy-saving technologies and introduce alternative energy sources into circulation.

The most striking feature of the distribution of oil reserves is their superconcentration in one relatively small region - the Persian Gulf basin. Here, in the Arab monarchies of Iran and Iraq, almost 2/3 of the proven reserves are concentrated, and most of them (more than 2/5 of the world reserves) are in three Arabian countries with a small indigenous population - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Even taking into account the huge number of foreign workers who flooded these countries in the second half of the twentieth century, there are just over 20 million people here - 0.3% of the world's population.

Among the countries with very large reserves (more than 10 billion tons each, or more than 6% of the world) are Iraq, Iran and Venezuela. These countries have long had a significant population and a more or less developed economy, while Iran and Iraq are the oldest centers of world civilization. Therefore, the high concentration of oil reserves in them does not seem as blatantly unfair as in the three Arabian monarchies, where yesterday's illiterate and half-wild nomads - pastoralists bathe in oil and petrodollars.

OECD - Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, includes 29 economically developed countries. The OECD includes Australia, Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Hungary'', Germany, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Spain, Italy, Canada, Luxembourg, Mexico,'' The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland'' , Portugal, USA, Turkey, Finland, France, Sweden, Czech Republic'', Switzerland, South Korea'', Japan. ('' - selected countries that joined the OECD in the 90s).

OPEC - Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, it includes Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Venezuela.

Russia, with its seven billion tons, lags far behind the six "great oil powers." We are not that far ahead of Mexico and Libya. Small consolation is that the US and China have even smaller reserves. Many analysts believe that the United States deliberately underestimates its oil reserves in order, if possible, to save its oil in the bowels “for a rainy day” and at the same time, trying to convince itself in this way, to assert its presence in the Middle East, motivating it with “vital interests” .

In all major regions of the world, except for foreign Europe and the territory of the former USSR, the ratio of oil reserves as of 1997 to 1977 reserves is more than 100% (see Table). Even North America, despite 'mothballing' in the US, has significantly increased its total proven reserves thanks to intensive exploration in Mexico.

In Europe, the depletion of reserves is associated with the relatively low natural oil content of the region and very intensive production in recent decades: by boosting production, the countries of foreign Europe seek to destroy the monopoly of Middle Eastern exporters. However, the North Sea shelf - Europe's main oil barrel - is not infinitely oil-bearing.

A noticeable decrease in proven reserves in the territory of the former USSR is associated not so much with the physical depletion of the subsoil, as in Western Europe, and not so much with the desire to hold back their oil, as in the United States, but with the crisis in the domestic exploration industry. The pace of exploration of new reserves lags behind the pace of squandering old baggage.

Extraction and consumption of oil.

Oil production volumes are constantly growing: for 1987 -1997. Production in the world has accelerated one and a half times. Today, 3.5 billion tons of oil is extracted from the bowels of the Earth a year. In the late 1990s, the main oil-producing region could - without competition - be considered the Middle East (mainly the Persian Gulf), concentrating more than 30% of world production. Meanwhile, just a few years ago, North America and the USSR successfully competed with the Arabs and Persians.

A decade ago, Arab oil producers restrained their production, thereby seeking, firstly, to limit the supply of oil on the world market and thereby keep the price high, and, secondly, by “conserving” oil in the bowels, to extend the period of their comfortable oil existence by several extra decades. Therefore, much less oil was produced in the Persian Gulf zone than the riches of the subsoil and production capacities allowed. High oil prices on the world market made it possible, even with limited production, to receive huge export earnings. However, the fall in oil prices in the 1980s and 1990s was so painfully perceived by Middle Eastern oil exporters, who were accustomed to golden fountains in excess of income, that they put aside the demagogy about future generations, for the sake of which they allegedly “canned” oil in the bowels, and again began to force prey. By increasing the mass of exported oil, they seek to compensate for the drop in income from cheaper products.

The growth in the supply of cheap oil on the world market has allowed the United States to cut its own production and hold its oil for a rainy day. For this reason, there is a slight decline in production in the North American region as a whole, although Mexico and Canada are steadily increasing production.

Production growth is observed in most regions of the world. For 1987 - 1997 annual production increased by 60 - 65% in the Middle East (At the same time, if it were not for the imperialist sanctions against Iraq, the region would produce even more oil today and the observed growth rates would be even higher.) and in Latin America, by 40 - 50% in Africa and Western Europe, more than 20% - in foreign Asia without the Middle East. Only on the territory of the former USSR - a recession bordering on a catastrophe. In Russia, the level of oil production in 1997 was only 54% of the 1987 level. A comparable decline among major oil producers is observed only in Iraq, but this country, paying for the desire for an independent political course, is suffering from sanctions from the imperialist powers. Democratic Russia, without any sanctions, itself, is losing its positions.

The three main oil producers of the Earth are Saudi Arabia, the United States, the Russian Federation. These three countries account for one third of the world's oil production. These countries have held the lead over the past decades, but their places in the group of leaders are constantly changing. Russia, which a decade ago controlled 20% of the world market, now falls short of even 10%. The significance of the gigantic oil production in each of the three leading countries is different. In the United States, production, which by world standards seems huge, is actually small. For a country burning and processing almost a billion tons of oil products every year, four hundred million tons of oil production is not a solution to problems. Clearly, the future of the US economy is tied to oil imports. Oil produced within the United States itself does not have a big impact on the world market.

In Saudi Arabia, oil production can be called huge without exaggeration. Of the half a billion tons of production, the country “assimilates” only 50 million. and even then with difficulty, “choking”. She certainly does not need so much oil. It was not oil production that arose here in response to the oil needs of the economy, but the oil-consuming economy itself became the later response to the huge oil production that began to be carried out in the interests of external consumers. Oil consumption in Saudi Arabia was formed on the principle of "eat while they give." Burning oil thermal power plants and the distillers who squander energy to build cities on sand and grow wheat in the barren deserts of Arabia, petrochemical plants, processing oil mainly not for local needs, but for the subsequent export of products - all this is a fiend of the underworld, the richest oil-bearing subsoil, and not the result of a long successive development of the economy on its own intellectual, cultural and labor basis. But even taking into account the stupid squandering, Saudi domestic oil consumption is a drop in the ocean of oil produced. The country is the world's largest seller of oil, largely determining the state of the world market for primary energy sources.

Oil economy of the Russian Federation

Russia occupies an intermediate position between the poles “above the consumer” - the United States and “above the producer” - Saudi Arabia. A country with a powerful diversified economy and a capacious domestic market has long been successfully digesting its own oil in large quantities. The main point of oil production is not to get currency for it, as in Saudi Arabia, but to feed our energy, our industry, our army, our transport, our public utilities. At the same time, with less consumption than in the United States and with large reserves, the country has significant surpluses of oil to supply them to the world market. However, now they are not so big.

Today Russia produces approximately 300 million tons of oil per year. It consumes 130 million, which is very little. Relatively small and warm Germany consumes a little more than us, China - one and a half times more, Japan - twice as much! The level of oil consumption in the Russian Federation is in crisis. During the years of Soviet power, with a functioning economy of the RSFSR, it consumed 250 million tons of oil per year. If we return (and sooner or later this will happen) to a real, developed, diversified, energy-saturated economy, to a combat-ready army and navy, to normally heated cities and towns, while the level of oil production remains the same as today, then the Russian Federation will practically will not have surplus oil for export. Our extra 50 million tons will not make a difference on the world market, and our country - given its scale - will not give any significant income. 50 million tons of exported oil can flood some Kuwait with Mercedes, expensive computers and Swiss watches. For us, the monetary-tangible exports start from hundreds of millions of tons per year. The country must choose either to forcefully drive oil, gas and other raw materials for export and build a pseudo-prosperous economy in the capital from the incoming currency in the manner of Arab sheikhanats (but then know your hearth for sure), or pump live oil (and not petrodollars) into its own energy and chemistry and reanimate its industrial and military power (but then deliberately go for the reduction of foreign exchange earnings and self-restriction in consumer imports. Both paths are fraught with many problems and surprises. Having tried to bet on the first path, the Russian Federation has already faced tangible blows to the nose : the fall in world oil prices, the unwillingness of the oil market to make room to let in a competitor, even if it is at least thrice democratic. Perhaps, of course, maneuvering between the two paths; in general, this is what the Soviet leadership did in the so-called period of stagnation. But the experience of world development teaches : you cannot build sustainable development on the sale of mineral resources.

However, now there are theoretical disputes, quick-witted guys from oil-producing regions can solve everything in a third way: fence off their oil enclaves from the territory of the Russian Federation with semi-state (or even state) borders and create a couple of Lower Ob or Middle Volga sheikhanats. After all, this is how all sorts of Kuwaitis and Emirates once arose - cans with oil content, isolated by British imperialism from the pan-Arab space. If the 17th governorate (governorship) of Iraq (namely, Kuwait is regarded as such by the people of Iraq, and part of the Kuwaitis themselves, not without good reason) can be considered an independent state and enjoy military support (actually a protectorate) of the United States, then who will interfere with 87, 88 and 89 th subjects of the so-called Russian Federation to follow a similar path?

Oil refining.

Oil refining to a greater extent, of course, gravitates towards the places of consumption. Oddly enough, but the leading oil producing country - Saudi Arabia did not even enter the top ten largest countries of refiners. The four first places in oil refining are firmly held by consumers (not extracting, or almost not extracting) oil. Thus, out of the ten largest consumers, eight were among the leaders in terms of the capacity of oil refineries. Of the ten earners, only four; at the same time, three of them are simultaneously among the ten largest consumers (and the fourth - Great Britain - almost does not reach). The entire OPEC brotherhood: Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela - did not get into the leaders in terms of the capacity of oil refineries.

Top ten countries in the world in 1997

Leaders in:

By production oil (million tons)	by power Refinery (million tons)	by consumption oil (million tons)
Saudi Arabia (450)	USA (800)	USA (850)
USA (400)	Territory of the USSR (500)	Japan (250)
Territory of the USSR (350)	Japan (250)	Territory of the USSR (200)
Iran (200)	China (200)	China (200)
Venezuela (150)	Italy (100)	Germany (150)
Mexico (150)	South Korea (100)	South Korea (100)
China (150)	Germany (100)	Italy (100)
Norway (150)	UK (100)	France (100)
UK (150)	France (100)	India (100)
UAE (100)	Canada (100)	Brazil (100)

The data in the table clearly illustrate the above.

The conclusion is obvious. It is more convenient to export crude oil “in bulk” - in tankers or through oil pipelines, without dividing it into fractions. And then, already in places of mass consumption, distill oil into fuel oil, diesel fuel, motor gasoline, etc. It is convenient to deliver oil products of various fractions and grades from oil refineries (refineries) located in consumption areas directly to consumers via relatively short product pipelines or in tanks . If oil refining is carried out in the area of ​​oil fields, then in order to deliver various products to consumers, either a diverse fleet of specialized tankers (or tankers with different specialized capacities), various port equipment for their loading and unloading, or a whole bunch of extended oil product pipelines instead of one powerful oil pipeline for crude oil.

Oil processing at refineries in regions and countries of the world, million tons of crude oil per year.

Countries and regions	1987	1990	1995	1997	Share in world production 1997, %
USA	642,8	670,5	698,8	731,3	21,9
Canada	72,0	80,0	76,0	82,5	2,5
Mexico	67,8	74,5	74,0	72,0	2,2
South and Central America	220,5	240,0	240,0	253,8	7,6
Foreign Europe	623,0	678,5	719,0	741,5	22,2
Territory of the USSR	487,8	458,8	245,0	236,0	7,1
Middle East	196,8	217,0	266,0	273,8	8,2
Africa	100,0	117,8	117,8	125,5	3,8
Australia and N. Zealand	32,3	35,8	39,5	43,3	1,3
China	97,5	107,8	135,5	154,3	4,6
Japan	145,5	171,8	208,5	216,5	6,5
Asia-Pacific countries	196,8	243,8	340,8	406,0	12,1
world, total	2882,5	3096,0	3160,8	3336,3	100,0

In general, there is no rapid growth in the total capacity of refineries around the world. For 1987 - 1997 They increased by only 8%. At the same time, a decrease in capacity often coexists with an increase in processing volumes. Over the same period, the volume of refined oil increased by 16% worldwide. This means that existing capacities in most countries of the world are being used more and more efficiently. In developed regions (North America, Western Europe), the total capacity of oil refineries is slowly declining. On the territory of the USSR - a sharp reduction. A significant increase in refinery capacity is observed only in two centers - in the Middle East and in East and Southeast Asia.

OPEC countries are building new refineries primarily to make their exports more profitable: to sell expensive petroleum products instead of cheap crude oil. In these countries, over the past decade, oil refining has increased by almost 40%. In Pacific Asia, however, the rapid development of the industry is mainly associated not with oil production, but with the growing consumption of petroleum products. The increase in oil refining is associated primarily with China (an increase in refining by 60%), Japan (50%) and South Korea (an increase in refinery capacity over 10 years by more than three times). So, despite the desire of the leading oil exporters to become the largest exporters of petroleum products, world economy keeps the overall balance: oil refining clings to the consumer.

There are, however, countries that are a notable exception to the rule. These are significant oil refiners that do not have their own production and do not carry out significant domestic consumption of petroleum products. First of all, and par excellence, the Netherlands Antilles, where oil refining was formed due to the position near oil transit routes and the presence of convenient deep-water harbors for tankers. The islands of Aruba and Curacao in the Lesser Antilles group are classic “transit” oil refiners.

The situation is similar in Singapore: the capacity of oil refineries is much higher than consumption. Also the result of a brilliant geographical position. The strong excess of refinery capacities over the consumption of petroleum products in the Netherlands is also striking. The largest port complexes in Europe attract oil refining: refineries catch imported oil at the entrance to Europe (in neighboring Germany, own oil refining does not cover the needs: the proximity of abundant Dutch refineries affects).

Unloaded refinery capacity coupled with crude oil exports to Russian Federation.

A very special situation is on the territory of the USSR. It turns out that the country has the capacity of refineries, almost three times the domestic consumption of petroleum products. You might think that we have some kind of the Netherlands or Singapore and we process a huge amount of imported oil for subsequent export, earning good money on this. In reality, everything is much sadder. With a total capacity of our refineries of more than half a billion tons of crude oil a year, not even a quarter of a billion is actually processed. Capacity utilization - less than 50%. There is no such low rate anywhere in the world. This is the result of the collapse of the economy and the reduction in domestic oil consumption. Our excess capacity is not being exported, it is simply idle.

We could freely process all the oil we produce (360 million tons per year), but we export mainly crude oil. Of the 170 million tons of oil exported from the territory of the USSR, 110 million tons are crude oil, and only 60 million tons are oil products. This is partly the result of the general attitude of those groups that seized power in the country in the 1990s to the forced sale of raw materials in order to quickly enrich themselves. But this is partly a legacy of the “stagnation period” export policy: the existing oil pipeline infrastructure, legacy contacts and the competitive situation in the European markets force the country to release crude oil into the pipe.

It is clear that it is unlikely that it will be possible to change the current situation soon, but to think about reorienting the oil sector primarily to feed its own industrial development, necessary. Related to this is the development of the civic position of the new generation. For this, it makes sense to study the conjuncture of the world commodity markets.

Our oil export is not as great as it is sometimes thought. Russia exported about 180 million tons in 1997 (including exports to the former Soviet republics). At the same time, the world oil price remained at the level of about $20 per 1 barrel (see the chart below). 1 ton corresponds to approximately 7.3 barrels, therefore, one could get about 150 dollars per ton (in reality, usually less; at the same time, oil is sold to our “near” neighbors, as a rule, cheaper, which, generally speaking, is correct). From this figure one should subtract the very significant costs of production, transportation, transit fees to old and new countries through whose territories our export pipelines run. But even if we do not make any deductions, but consider the most optimistic gross revenue (after all, part of the oil is exported in the form of relatively expensive petroleum products), then it does not exceed $27 billion, which is $180 per 1 inhabitant of the country per year. Is it a lot?

But it is even more reasonable to divide the wealth of the domestic subsoil between a hundred local oil bosses and tens of thousands of inhabitants of “prestigious” houses in the capital and dachas in the vicinity of Zvenigorod and Odintsovo. This is where the real feast begins.

Revenues from the export of oil and oil products in some countries, billion dollars

Country	1980	1985	1990	1995	1996
Algeria	15	13	9	10	13
Ecuador	2	2	1	1	2
Gabon	1	2	1	2	2
Indonesia	13	12	8	6	7
Iran	13	15	16	15	18
Iraq	25	11	9	...	...
Kuwait	19	9	10	9	9
Libya	23	10	10	7	10
Mexico	9	13	9	8	12
Nigeria	24	12	14	10	15
Qatar	6	3	3	2	3
Saudi Arabia	99	26	37	41	44
UAE	19	12	17	13	26
Venezuela	18	13	11	14	18

Conclusion

Oil today is a raw material for the chemical industry, which produces goods necessary for consumers: polyethylene, bitumen, a wide range of various plastics, artificial fabrics, etc. Therefore, oil is produced by all countries in whose bowels it is found. Among the oil producers, the countries of the Persian Gulf are especially distinguished: the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia. As well as such large countries and regions as the United States and the territory of the former USSR. Many oil exporting countries unite in various communities: OPEC and OECD.

However, not only oil production, but also oil refining brings big profits. Many countries occupying a transit position along the oil transportation routes prefer to set up oil refineries on their territory, which brings them huge incomes. But the most profitable is the processing of oil at the point of consumption, because in this case it is necessary to use not many different vehicles transporting products, but one: transporting oil.

Among the oil consumer countries, the United States stands out (first place in consumption and second in production), Japan (second place in consumption of imported oil) and the territory of the USSR (third place in consumption). The same countries occupy the leading positions in terms of refinery capacity. Therefore, it is clear that oil refining gravitates towards the places of its consumption.

I believe that our planet will have enough explored and unexplored oil for many years to come, but humanity must learn to use other alternative sources of raw materials for its industry, otherwise our civilization will not avoid an ecological catastrophe in the future.

Bibliography

V. P. Gavrilov. "Black Gold of the Planet"

A. A. Kartsev, S. B. Vagin. "Water and Oil"

A. L. Kozlov, V. A. Nurshanov. "Natural fuel of the planet"

V. P. Maksakovskii. "Geographical picture of the world"

I. F. Romanovich, A. I. Kravtsov, D. P. Filippov. "Minerals" (textbook for geological specialties)

B. G. Khotimsky, V. B. Toporsky, O. A. Makholin. "Oil yesterday and today"