Lesson 12 Connection Video

For this last lesson, we touched on a variety of topics to wrap up our journey through the history of the oil industry. I want to add a little personal experience to some of these topics, and then we'll have some closing remarks.
First, let's discuss the topic of running out of oil.
It is true that oil is technically a nonrenewable resource because there is a finite amount of it. The challenge is knowing what that amount actually is.
From my early days in the oil industry, and even before that while working on my master's degree in petroleum geology, we often discussed reserves and resources, as you saw in the reading.
To some extent, it does not really matter what the total amount of oil in the ground is. What matters is how much of it can be recovered within the economic and technological constraints that exist at a given time.
Those constraints change over time, which means the amount of recoverable oil changes as well.
Second, on the topic of unconventional sources, we focused on the Canadian oil sands.
While this was not a major part of my experience during my oil company days, I later worked for a company called Veolia that specialized in water treatment technology. During that time, I had the opportunity to work with several oil companies involved in developing this resource.
The oil sands represent a significant component of the Canadian economy, and getting that oil to market is important.
The controversy surrounding the Keystone XL pipeline centered on its role in transporting oil to U.S. refineries. It is important to recognize that preventing completion of the pipeline would not stop production from those reserves.
Instead, Canada could move that oil westward to the Pacific and then sell it in Asian markets.
Remember that oil companies are international entities that move products throughout their supply chains. Also remember that oil companies generally have alternatives.
It is unrealistic to assume that stopping the Keystone XL pipeline in the United States would halt Canadian oil production. In fact, some of that oil still moves to the United States by truck and rail rather than by pipeline.
My point is to always look at the bigger picture.
The final two topics in this lesson are related in several ways: hydraulic fracturing and climate change.
They are related because both are highly controversial.
The purpose here is not to debate the environmental concerns surrounding fracking or the arguments for and against it. The relevant point for our class is how it affects reserves.
From an oil market perspective, hydraulic fracturing has increased U.S. natural gas reserves, changing domestic production and influencing our position in terms of global energy dependence.
This is similar to earlier periods in history when natural gas helped fill supply gaps created by limited access to oil.
Decisions about hydraulic fracturing must consider not only environmental concerns but also economic and national security considerations.
One of the global issues influencing discussions about fracking is climate change, which seeks to reduce, if not eliminate, the use of fossil fuels.
Here we have a technology that increases access to fossil fuels occurring at the same time as a movement aimed at reducing their use.
This is an example of the kinds of conflicts society must navigate.
The key takeaway is that you cannot solve individual problems in isolation when those problems are interconnected.
There was much more covered in this lesson and throughout the semester as a whole.
I hope that, in addition to learning about specific moments and events in the history of the oil industry, you gained an understanding of how global markets function, the interplay between national and private interests, the role of geopolitical issues, and how compromise, perseverance, and innovation can change the world.
Thank you, and good luck.