There are advantages and disadvantages of using oil: Advantages of Oil
• It gives off hardly any smoke. • It produces great heat. • It is very efficient. • It is easily transported.
Disadvantages of Oil
• It is expensive. • We have to import it. • It must be transported by sea in tankers. • Oil leaks can cause serious pollution.
: Figure 5.5 Clear-up operation under way after an explosion on the offshore rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico caused a huge oil spillage in 2010
: Figure 5.6 In 1989 the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska and spilt more than 40 million litres of oil
ACT VITY
Look at the photographs of oil spillages above. Can you describe one economic and one environmental impact of an oil spillage?
Location of oil
Many countries, including the USA and Norway, have oil reserves. However, the vast majority of reserves are located around the Persian Gulf in the Middle East. Countries in the region include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Oil prices are set by OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), which causes the price to fluctuate (rise and fall). For example, prices fall if there is a lot of oil available and prices rise if it is difficult to access oil because of conflicts in oil-producing countries.
AZERBAIJAN TURKEY
Mediterranean Sea
LEBANON ISRAEL
JORDAN KUWAIT EGYPT BAHRAIN U.A.E Red Sea SUDAN ERITREA ETHIOPIA YEMEN Arabian Sea SAUDI ARABIA OMAN SYRIA AFGHANISTAN IRAQ IRAN
Persian Gulf QATAR
PAKISTAN
Caspian Sea
TURKMENISTAN
UZBEKISTAN TAJIKISTAN ( Figure 5.7 Oil wells in the oil-
producing countries of the Middle East
SOMALIA 73
Energy and the Environment: How fuelling our needs impacts on the world we live in
