Background information on oil

Contents

    Ulla Lehtinen: "Indigenous peoples and oil" events in Finland 1999 
    Olli Tammilehto: A civilised world or a bloodsucker of the earth? 
    Background information on oil 
    Russia's oil production 
    Florian Stammler: Where does our oil come from? 
    Yeremei Aipin: Russia's oil industry and the development of rights of indigenous people 
    Agrafena Sopochina: "We Live on what the earth carries on itself" 
    Yuri Vella: Kogalym-Lor - the lake where a man died 
    Bruce Forbes: Industrial development in the Yamal-Nenets Area 
    Lidia Okotetto: I no longer understand the tundra that has loved me 
    Grigorii Anagurichi: A clash of civilisations at the ends of the world 
    Charity Nenebari Ebeh: The Ogoni experience 
    Magda Lanuza: Oil production in Central America 
    Ecuador and oil 
    Arturo Yumbai Iligama: The war against the poor 
    Colombia, the U'wa and oil 
    Roberto Afanador Cobaria: Oil is blood of the earth 
    Workshop 1: The strategies of oil industry and the responses of indigenous peoples' movements 
    Workshop 2: Networking of indigenous peoples threatened by oil and gas exploration 
    Workshop 3: Northern Dimension
    Communique of the participants in the seminar "Indigenous Peoples and Oil" 
    Internet links
 In 1998, the share of oil in the world's energy consumption was 36 per cent. According to the International Energy Agency, in that year the production of crude oil increased by 1.3 per cent compared to the previous year to 3,800 million tonnes (27,5 billion barrels, including gas condensates, i.e. gaseous substances coming with oil from the oil well). The consumption of petroleum products increased in the same year by 0.6 per cent to 3,800 million tonnes. In 1975 the production and consumption of oil still were around 2,700 million tonnes annually.

The current oil supplies that have been discovered and can be quickly taken into production correspond to over 40 years consumption. The big oil producing countries are Saudi Arabia (446 million tonnes in 1999, this includes gas condensates; the same goes for the succeeding figures), the USA (355 million tonnes), Russian Federation (303 million tonnes), Iran (176 million tonnes), Mexico (163 million tonnes), Venezuela (162 million tonnes), China (161 million tonnes) Norway (149 million tonnes), Great Britain (139 million tonnes) and Iraq (125 million tonnes). In Nigeria 76 per cent of the gas condensates are flared at the production site and therefore the country is not included in these statistics even though it is the sixth biggest oil producer.

Oil in Finland

The overall energy consumption in Finland has almost doubled since 1970. In 1999, oil consumption constituted about 28 per cent of energy consumption. Its share in the overall energy consumption has decreased percentage-wise from year to year, but quantitatively has remained the same. In 1999 14 million tonnes were imported into Finland, mainly from Russia (47%), Norway (22%), Denmark (17%) and Great Britain (6%). The domestic oil refineries used about 24 per cent of their total feeding other substances than oil (among others gas condensates). Russia was the most important source of these substances. In 1999, oil consumption in Finland was about 8,7 million tonnes, up by 0,8 per cent from the previous year.

The effects of use of oil

The burning of natural gas and oil releases into the atmosphere among other things, carbon dioxide, sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and heavy metals (e.g. lead). Especially carbon dioxide is considered an important producer of the greenhouse effect. The emissions have increased about 2 per cent annually in the last few decades. In 1990 the use of fossil fuels corresponded to almost 60 per cent of the substances promoting the greenhouse effect. Oil contains other harmful substances, e.g. benzene, toluene, ethylic benzene, xylene and polycyclic aromatic carbohydrates (PAH), some of which cause cancer. 

Also prospecting for oil as well as its drilling and production cause several problems. The living environment of human beings is damaged and they are compelled to change their way of living when oil companies construct pipelines, electrical cables, roads and other infrastructures in areas where such things previously did not exist. The surrounding nature is destroyed by oil pollution, for instance, around the rigs. Similarly oil transportation and storage pose environmental risks. The danger of oil spills and other accidents is biggest when oil pipelines are not taken care of efficiently. Small amounts of oil spillage are often cheaper for the oil companies than repairing damaged pipes. 

If gas and oil production continue to increase, fragile ecosystems are in danger of being seriously polluted and disappearing from the globe - and along with them many peoples.

What is to be done?

For the sake of the global and local environment, it is crucially important to reduce the consumption of oil and other non-renewable energy sources. Consumption can be reduced by energy-saving measures and developing alternative sources of energy. Responsibility lies with corporations, multilateral organisations, states and individual people. People can change the energy policy depending heavily on oil, first of all by joining social movements.

Additional information:

Hare, Bill: Fossil Fuels and Climate Protection. The Carbon Logic Amsterdam: Greenpeace. 1997.

Energy Review 3/98, 1/00. Helsinki: Ministry of Trade and Industry, Energy department.

Drilling to the Ends of the Earth, The ecological, social and climate imperative for ending petroleum exploration. Project Underground and Rainforest Action Network, 1998.

www.iea.org

www.oil.fi - the central organisation of the oil sector in Finland.

http://antenna.nl/aseedeur/oilwatch/index.htm - Oilwatch Europe

www.moles.org/Proje ctUnderground/index1.html - Project Underground