How long will coal, gas and oil last?

Worztron

Hi mods, please move this thread if it is in the wrong place. Thanks.

Hello. How long will coal, gas and oil last?

Chaotic_Forces

Untill we figure out a new "cheaper" energy that we'll be charged the same for so the government can make more money.

MidlandsM

Till it runs out.

biko

Google says 40 Years of Oil and 65 Years of Gas Left
http://www.bionomicfuel.com/fossil-fuels-reserves-will-not-last-long/

History of Oil
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5267640865741878159#

Daegerty

40 years. probably 30 now for oil and gas


We will never run out of either, it just won't yield any energy to extract it from the ground at some point.

100s of years of coal left.

petes

Depends, how much did you get?

Pauleta

There's about 30-40 years of oil left but i would say in about 20 years it will become too expensive for the general public.

Poly

I get about 2 months out of a fill of oil

Daegerty

Pauleta wrote: »

There's about 30-40 years of oil left but i would say in about 20 years it will become too expensive for the general public.

Just as well I have a Horse outside

Cookie_Monster

it'll last a lot longer than is quoted I think. there plenty of deeper un tapped resources that are too expenive now, but as it gets scarer it'll become worthwhile to dig it out and the technology will improve making access easier too.

RichieC

It's never going to get cheaper, I've read some people saying we have already reached peak production and now begins a long drawn out decline filled with wars and conflict over the remaining supplies...

Guy:Incognito

Pauleta wrote: »

There's about 30-40 years of oil left but i would say in about 20 years it will become too expensive for the general public.

They've been saying that for 30 years

Captain_Generic

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

They've been saying that for 30 years

It's like the whole diamond fiasco, control the supply, justify the price.

As far as I know Canada has huge untapped reserves of oil, but its not crude oil, and it's expensive to utilize.

Overheal

Pauleta wrote: »

There's about 30-40 years of oil left but i would say in about 20 years it will become too expensive for the general public.

I agree (about the cost not the years - I don't have figures and don't honestly find it relevant today). But that will also make alternative energies inherently cheaper.

Delta Kilo

I know a guy working in the oil industry in Canada. He is an engineer that analyses gas pipelines and leaks. He told me there is a huge amount of oil left, it is just all kept hush hush so they can make more money on it.

Overheal

Delta Kilo wrote: »

I know a guy working in the oil industry in Canada. He is an engineer that analyses gas pipelines and leaks. He told me there is a huge amount of oil left, it is just all kept hush hush so they can make more money on it.

Not surprised.

The pragmatist in me sees it as necessary. Anything we know we have an abundance of we consume nonchalantly. At least in the current culture we are more conscious of future conservation.

RichieC

Delta Kilo wrote: »

I know a guy working in the oil industry in Canada. He is an engineer that analyses gas pipelines and leaks. He told me there is a huge amount of oil left, it is just all kept hush hush so they can make more money on it.

sounds like BS... there is no doubt plenty of oil left in the earths crust, the problem is that it is hard to get at and starts to consume more energy extracting it than you will get from the extracted oil.

the other problem is the quality of the Crude Oil... not all Crude is easily or cheaply refined.

YFlyer

Captain_Generic wrote: »

As far as I know Canada has huge untapped reserves of oil, but its not crude oil, and it's expensive to utilize.

Oilsands, or some call it tarsands.

There is also huge reserves of oilshale in North America and heavy oils in Mexico and Venezuela.

flanzer

Delta Kilo wrote: »

I know a guy working in the oil industry in Canada. He is an engineer that analyses gas pipelines and leaks. He told me there is a huge amount of oil left, it is just all kept hush hush so they can make more money on it.

That's a similar theme to a cousin of mine who does research in leukemia in kids and says it's speculated in that industry that there is a cure for cancer out there, but the big pharmaceutical companies keep it hush as there is more money to be made in the treatment of it, than cure it

RichieC

flanzer wrote: »

That's a similar theme to a cousin of mine who does research in leukemia in kids and says it's speculated in that industry that there is a cure for cancer out there, but the big pharmaceutical companies keep it hush as there is more money to be made in the treatment of it, than cure it

Conspiracy theories.. I've no doubt there's a grain of truth in it, they do rather make drugs that you'll be dependent on for life rather than a cure, but I refuse to believe they are monstrous enough to hold out on a cure for childhood Leukemia.

Knasher

flanzer wrote: »

That's a similar theme to a cousin of mine who does research in leukemia in kids and says it's speculated in that industry that there is a cure for cancer out there, but the big pharmaceutical companies keep it hush as there is more money to be made in the treatment of it, than cure it

I doubt there is an actual cure out there, but I would imagine that when companies are doing research they concentrate on areas which will yield a treatment over areas that will yield a cure. Not that I know much about cancer research to say that they are distinct and identifiable areas.

Captain_Generic

The George probably has decent oil reserves

The Shtig

I'm reading Paul Roberts - The End of Oil and is a great book looking at how much reserves are left, politics with oil and the other options availible. Definately recommend it.

The range varies a lot between different oil optimists and pessimists but we may have reached our peak and we have the last of the 'easy oil'. Now they will have to drill for oil in more difficult and dangerous places like the Atlantic or the Artic but there will be a lot of opposition. I'm no way any expert in this just reciting what I read so might not be correct.

There's a interesting section stating that goverments are hesitant to switch to other sources of energy and will most likely wait until there is no other solution due to the tax they make from oil and the cost of other options.

stovelid

I would have thought that recycling the oleaginous remains of Gerry Ryan would have sorted out our oil needs for a decade or two?

karma_

RichieC wrote: »

Conspiracy theories.. I've no doubt there's a grain of truth in it, they do rather make drugs that you'll be dependent on for life rather than a cure, but I refuse to believe they are monstrous enough to hold out on a cure for childhood Leukemia.

I'm not so sure, what about the time Bayer knowingly let thousands become infected with HIV, all because they didn;t want to lose money on an infected batch of plasma.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contaminated_haemophilia_blood_products

TotallyEpic

stovelid wrote: »

I would have thought that recycling the oleaginous remains of Gerry Ryan would have sorted out our oil needs for a decade or two?

Too soon...too soon :P

Usersname

You can forget about tarsands and all those other 'reserves' of oil on the planet. Oil will not run out, as was said before, it will only become inefficient to extract. Extracting oil from tarsands is extremely energy intensive and uses vast quantities of fresh water. It is not exactly sustainable or efficient.

The worlds oil consumption increases at a rate of 7% a year. This means it doubles every 10 years. In other words, if oil ran out tomorrow, we would have to discover the same amount of oil we have consumed since the industrial revolution in order to last 10 more years of consumption.

So you can see how even if there are 'huge' amounts of oil left in Canada or Mexico or whatever it will still not be enough to get us beyond the 10 or 20 year mark.

Yes people have been saying this for 30 years and it might not happen for another 50 or more. But it is going to happen. And it will not be pretty. If we are unprepared it may lead to the collapse of western civilization as we know it.

As for how much oil and gas is left, nobody on this planet has any idea. There's just a whole bunch of guesstimations floating about.

Professey Chin

Longer then chocolate

RichieC

Usersname wrote: »

So you can see how even if there are 'huge' amounts of oil left in Canada or Mexico or whatever it will still not be enough to get us beyond the 10 or 20 year mark.

Yes people have been saying this for 30 years and it might not happen for another 50 or more. But it is going to happen. And it will not be pretty. If we are unprepared it may lead to the collapse of western civilization as we know it.

As for how much oil and gas is left, nobody on this planet has any idea. There's just a whole bunch of guesstimations floating about.

We will be unprepared, seems to be a political faux pas to even mention it.

Usersname

RichieC wrote: »

We will be unprepared, seems to be a political faux pas to even mention it.

You're dead right, but you always have to speak hypothetically when referring to the future of the planet to avoid upsetting the hoards of ignorant sheep.

Ruu_Old

How long would a person burn on a fire? Just wondering if worst comes to worst. *cough* old people. >_>

partyatmygaff

Ruu wrote: »

How long would a person burn on a fire? Just wondering if worst comes to worst. *cough* old people. >_>

The funny thing is that by the time crude oil runs out (As people predict) you'll be one of those old people.

Captain_Generic

Ruu wrote: »

How long would a person burn on a fire? Just wondering if worst comes to worst. *cough* old people. >_>

They probably wouldn't even notice

"CHANGE THE CHANNEL"

Eric Cartman

I only have 60-70 years left on this planet so if oil lasts that long itll be good enough for me

saywhatyousee

Eric Cartman wrote: »

I only have 60-70 years left on this planet so if oil lasts that long itll be good enough for me

Your logic appeals to me

ScumLord

We're not running out of oil, we're running out of cheap oil. WE can always make oil out of other things if we had to.

The real question is how can I realistically start switching to other power sources. Oil is great stuff though there really isn't a power source like that can take over so we may have to revert to using many other methods of power to fill the gap.

Cars could be the big loss, they just may not be that feasible if hydrogen doesn't work out.

Caveat_

I'd say around 64 years.

Suryavarman

Just came across this by accident.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1s_hld3JEQ

Not sure how accurate it is, sounds very optimistic to me. There may be some hope for civilisation as we know it

ScumLord

I say we use it all up in one great oil binge, why drag out the inevitable?

The next generation won't use it properly anyway, they're going all PC, frilly knickered mammys little pansy. They won't blow things up or make ridiculously massive engines and that's what oil is all about it wants to explode in a ball of flames.

I'm driving everywhere in 1st gear from now on.

Captain_Generic

ScumLord wrote: »

I'm driving everywhere in 1st gear from now on.

With a portable generator powering your cigarette lighter

Mike 1972

When I started driving petrol was 55.6 p/litre Its £1.32 now but my pretax income is about the same.

Worztron wrote: »

Hello. How long will coal, gas and oil last?

Pretty much forever.

There will be fossil fuels a thousand years for now but hardly anyone will be able to afford them and our generation will have been considered insane for having burned them (as opposed to using them to produce chemicals and synthetic materials)

Oil will be in seriously short supply over the next two decades (to an extent it is already). By the mid-late 21st century hardly anyone will be using it for fuel. Gas is considered somewhat more abundant now but as people switch from diminishing oil supplies this will prove to be largely false.

Possibly there is enough coal to take us into the 22nd century but we really need to look into cleaner ways of burning it (or considering whether it is actually too valuable to burn) Another possibility is a revival of the old technologies of producing gas or even oil from coal.

Uranium supplies are also dwindling so nuclear power isint really a solution either unless/until they get fusion to work. Trouble is theyve been trying since the 1950's and its looking further away than ever.

tommyhaas

The controversy surrounding the Gulf of Mexico spill will certainly have an adverse effect on deep sea drilling. It'l be interesting to see how the US respond in the long term in trying to balance their need for oil against their vendetta against those trying to provide it

CrackisWhack

Usersname wrote: »

You're dead right, but you always have to speak hypothetically when referring to the future of the planet to avoid upsetting the hoards of ignorant sheep.

People in the know may be keeping quiet, for the moment, due to the short term economic repercussions of the world knowing the actual volume of reserves, personally I think the current global recession is heavily down to oil reserves.

There has ben reports that OPEC have been exagerrating there reserves in order to ramp up prduction and make a quick buck. Personally I think the day of cheap oil has passed us, and it'll be interesting to see how we make the transition to a new form of energy.

Mr Cawley

tommyhaas wrote: »

The controversy surrounding the Gulf of Mexico spill will certainly have an adverse effect on deep sea drilling. It'l be interesting to see how the US respond in the long term in trying to balance their need for oil against their vendetta against those trying to provide it

Are you American or influenced by American media? Your above post was nothing but propaganda! BP is thriving in America and we saw pictures of Tony Blair with Gadaffi helping sign BP to that country's reserves too.

Oil is being discovered everyday, seismic info on oil deposits is always being updated and as the barrel price goes up it will always be economical to extract.

Technology advances have come a long way in the last 15 years.

Many oil exploration firms are discovering in namibia, falklands, kurdistan, North Sea

I'd bet there'll be loads for this lifetime and a couple after!

Oranage2

CrackisWhack wrote: »

People in the know may be keeping quiet, for the moment, due to the short term economic repercussions of the world knowing the actual volume of reserves, personally I think the current global recession is heavily down to oil reserves.

There has ben reports that OPEC have been exagerrating there reserves in order to ramp up prduction and make a quick buck. Personally I think the day of cheap oil has passed us, and it'll be interesting to see how we make the transition to a new form of energy.

I think I read it on boards. but when you consider a 500mil bottle of coke costs about €1.20, and a little of oil costs €1.50, its still relativity cheap since coke only needs a few ingredients easily obtained while oil needs engineers and drills and cost millions to extract.

Eric Cartman

ScumLord wrote: »

I say we use it all up in one great oil binge, why drag out the inevitable?

The next generation won't use it properly anyway, they're going all PC, frilly knickered mammys little pansy. They won't blow things up or make ridiculously massive engines and that's what oil is all about it wants to explode in a ball of flames.

I'm driving everywhere in 1st gear from now on.

this is relevant to my interests, Cadillac Escalade and move to cork and commute to dublin every day here I come

Tonyandthewhale

Mr Cawley wrote: »

Oil is being discovered everyday, seismic info on oil deposits is always being updated and as the barrel price goes up it will always be economical to extract.

Technology advances have come a long way in the last 15 years.

Many oil exploration firms are discovering in namibia, falklands, kurdistan, North Sea

I'd bet there'll be loads for this lifetime and a couple after!

You say it'll be economical to extract as the barrel price goes up but the barrel of oil also becomes more difficult to afford as the barrel price goes up. Just because they could potentially sell oil for decades to come doesn't mean you'll be able to buy it or any products where a lot of it is used in production.

As for new discoveries, none of the recent discoveries have been as big as in Arabia or Russia. They're all relatively small-fry and they're getting harder and harder to find (not to mention the constant increase in demand for oil). Kurdistan has been in production for a while now, North Sea is almost finish, it's questionable whether the supplies in Falkland are big enough to bother with and Namiba's pretty small fry too.
Your predict that there's plenty for this life-time and the next isn't exactly accurate.

johnmcdnl

i dunno about all this oil running out craic - why aren't we seriously planning for it if it only going to be sustainable for like 30-40 years until the prices go ridiculous...
something tells me that OPEC and the likes might be hiding oil somewhere to keep the prices up

after all all you ever hear is planning to get 10-20% of renewable power by 2020 etc etc..

what are we going to suddenly then jump to 80-90% in the next 20 years after that

But if the oil is going to soon start to run out as more than likely it is I think those of us alive are going to be really looking back in anger at those that left it so late to plan for the world without fossil fuels...

Oranage2 wrote: »

I think I read it on boards. but when you consider a 500mil bottle of coke costs about €1.20, and a little of oil costs €1.50, its still relativity cheap since coke only needs a few ingredients easily obtained while oil needs engineers and drills and cost millions to extract.

you can 2x2litres for €2 easily so that's just pure profiteering by coca cola

Daegerty

The shops make a fortune on those small bottles of coke

Tonyandthewhale

OPEC isn't hiding oil, it's more likely they're exaggerating how much they have to keep the market stable and consumption high. OPEC don't want to create mass demand for renewable or nuclear energy.

Even if OPEC or anyone else was hiding a bit away somewhere there's no way they could be hiding enough to make a significant difference to how long the world supply of oil will last.

People in government and lobby groups and the like are saying 20% by 2020 because they're realisitic about the amount of money people are willing to put into renewable energy. Also, if they came out and said we need 100% renewable energy and electric cars by 2020 or whatever people would call them alarmist scare-mongers and sure everyone knows OPEC has loads of oil hidden away somewhere etc etc. It's scary out there but people don't want to be scared.

QuimWedge

Ruu wrote: »

How long would a person burn on a fire? Just wondering if worst comes to worst. *cough* old people. >_>

You could burn fat people. There is more of them, hence more fuel and you solve the obesity crisis while you solve the energy crisis!

Unfortunately however it turns out that us humans are mostly made of water, including the fat ones, and as we all know water doesn't tend to burn well.