Oil - The Master Resource

A basic overview of the liquid that finds its way into every aspect of our lives.

Oil is one of the most polarising substances on Earth.

For some it is synonymous with prosperity, mobility and modern living. For others it represents pollution, climate change and geopolitical conflict.

Both perspectives contain elements of truth.

Today Gas NZ invited me to present to its members on oil.

Obviously this is a topical subject given the ongoing tensions in the Middle East and the flow-on effects being felt here in New Zealand.

However, rather than focusing solely on current events, I saw this as an opportunity to explore some of the less discussed aspects of oil and its role in our lives.

My aim in this presentation was not to advocate for or against oil, but to examine it objectively. What is it? Why has it become so important? What role does it play in our daily lives? And what challenges emerge as the world’s easiest and highest-quality resources are gradually depleted?

Whether we like it or not, modern civilisation was built on oil. Understanding its role is a prerequisite to understanding the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

The presentation examines oil through a biophysical lens. Topics include depletion, the energy cost of energy, the net energy surplus required to maintain complex societies, the importance of diesel to the physical economy, and the critical role oil plays not only as a fuel but also as a feedstock for thousands of industrial products.

One aspect I did not spend enough time on during the presentation was just how dramatically oil expanded humanity’s material world. Prior to the widespread use of oil, civilisation was built primarily from materials that grew, were mined, or were harvested. Wood, stone, iron, copper, leather, wool, animal fats, bone and hemp formed the material foundation of society. Oil did not simply provide a new fuel. It unlocked an entirely new class of materials, chemicals and products that reshaped almost every aspect of modern life.

I often think that we take oil for granted. Future historians may well look back on the practice of burning such a versatile and valuable resource for transportation, and in doing so converting so much of it to waste heat, and wonder whether it was the highest and best use of it. After all, the same barrel of oil that powers a vehicle also provides the building blocks for countless products that underpin modern civilisation.

As I argue in the presentation, oil is more than a fuel. It is arguably the master resource. It is the resource that allows us to access, process, transport and utilise many other resources. No civilisation has ever wielded such power, or faced the consequences of becoming so dependent upon it.

The question is not whether oil is good or bad. The question is whether we fully appreciate the extent to which modern civilisation has been built upon it, and what follows if its availability, quality or affordability changes.

Gas NZ have kindly made the presentation available on their YouTube channel and I am pleased to share it with you here. I hope you find it interesting and, at the very least, food for thought.

A big thank you to Jeffrey Clarke and the team at Gas NZ for the invitation to present on this topic.

Gas NZ have a lot of interesting resources on their Youtube channel from Lunch & Learn sessions, check it out.

P.s.

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Thanks as always.

Larry