The Market for Oil and Gasoline
Question 1:
OPEC stands for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC's eleven member countries include Venezuela, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, and Indonesia. In the fourth quarter of 2003 OPEC will produce 30.5 million barrels per day of the worlds projected total of 79.9 million barrels per day giving OPEC thirty-eight percent of the world's total production. The United States will produce 9 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter of 2003, which is 11 percent of total global production. In addition to OPEC and the United States many other countries produce oil. Canada and Mexico are the other major producers in North America, producing 4 and 4.5 percent of the global totals, respectively. The North Sea is the lone major producer in Europe contributing 8 percent to the global total. Asia's major non-OPEC producers are China, producing 4 percent of the global total, and the countries of the former Soviet Union which produce 13 percent of the global total. Oil fuels our cars, heats our homes, cooks our foods, is used in generating electricity, and is a key component in making plastics.
Looking at a graph of the United State's oil supply you see some shocking results. Since 1970 the oil being produced per day in the United States has generally fallen. In 1984 and 1985, the nation saw hope with increasing oil production. Other than those few years the yearly average has progressively gotten smaller per day since 1970. The graph's line is negatively sloped as the average in 1970 was near 12,000 (in thousands of barrels per day) a ...