Briefing: Oil

We rely on it to power our everyday lives, and it drives the economy worldwide, but oil faces an uncertain future in the 21st century. Black gold is increasingly expensive, environmentally damaging and, in the view of some experts, increasingly scarce.

How much oil do we currently consume?


In short, a lot. We get through around 30 billion barrels a year currently, which amounts to around 82 million barrels every day.

Consumption varies enormously around the world, but no prizes for guessing who uses the most. The United States guzzles a quarter of all oil produced, China, at the moment, comes a distant second with around 9 percent and Japan third with 6.5 percent.

CNN