Alternative fuels

by Peter Griffiths

Alternatives to gasoline.

Automotive manufacturers, environmental activists, governmental organisations and the consumer are all concerned, in their own way, about the future source of the fuel we put in our vehicles.

The oil producing nations, both inside and outside OPEC, have become extremely wealthy because of the fortunate circumstance of having vast amount of crude oil on their territories. The companies who refine, transport and supply the finished products to the end user have become global, super-rich money machines. Governments have used the tax income from the consumer to finance a large portion of their expenditure. The consumer has become accustomed to the car and the convenience of owning one or maybe more. Industry has become dependent, to a large extent, upon motor transport for distribution.

However several factors are now impinging on that happy circle of satisfied suppliers and consumers and these factors are forcing some serious discussion into the future direction of transport in general and into fuel for the motorist in particular.

Supply and cost of Crude Oil.

The traditional oil producing areas such as the Middle East have had it pretty easy with benign conditions for oil extraction. The same could also be said for the early days of oil production in the USA. The reserves were enormous and the conditions under which the wells were drilled and the production and delivery were established relatively cheaply.

Surveyors and engineers found more huge reserves offshore, for instance in the Gulf of Mexico and then in the North Sea. This made for a different and more expensive engineering challenge. The cost of establishing and operating these fields was that much greater. However as the price of crude oil has increased it has made it economically viable to extract these more difficult, therefore more expensive, reserves.

There is an interesting paradox represented by the fact that although we are extracting oil at a greater and greater rate the actual reserves are actually increasing as well. It should also be understood that not all of the so-called reserves are actually recoverable at this point in time.

There are some vast reserves which would be very difficult to extract and as a consequence very expensive. An example of this would be the oil shale and sands of Canada. Whilst not denying the size of the reserves, the energy demands of blasting, transport, crushing, heating etc, together with the safe disposal of huge quantities of waste material, are large, not to say extremely expensive.

However this sort of expense could be justified by the enhanced price of crude oil on the world market. In other words these reserves are not economically recoverable at this time, but may become so if the price increases enough in the future.

Demand for Oil and oil products.

The ultra-rapid growth of developing countries such as India and China places huge pressures on the world supply of oil, as these economies suck in enormous amounts of petroleum products. Their governments are seeking increased prosperity for their populations. The Indian and Chinese companies are growing very fast because of their low labour rates are exporting at an ever-increasing rate to the developed world and they will continue to grow for the medium term at least. These countries are looking to bring their standard of living up towards those enjoyed by the USA and Europe and there is no way in which this will be stopped. These vast countries and populations will be tomorrow's consumers, and that means energy usage and transportation.

Environmental concerns.

The scientific thesis of global warming and climate change cannot be denied. Or to be more specific - the evidence is becoming overwhelming such that the theory cannot be denied. This will have a major impact on everybody's life and governments and commercial entities are both, to a certain extent, preparing to make some changes. In particular as regards the level of emissions from automobiles.

Combination effect

When you add these three elements together you get a damning combination; whereby oil is getting more expensive to extract and less available, growth of demand among growing countries will mean the law of supply and demand will fuel increased prices and finally the environmental concerns of car emissions will require that we all look at alternatives to petroleum products to power our cars.

About the Author

Peter Griffiths has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Cardiff University. He has been a Yachtsman and marathon runner. He is a retired business owner and he is passionate, and researching into, Energy Saving and the perils of Climate Change. You can find out more at www.savefuelsavemoney.co.uk