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About 77% of crude oil has already been discovered, and 30% of it has been used so far. Between 1859 and 1968, 200 billion barrels (31 km³) of oil were used, and since then oil production has stabilized to 22 billion barrels (3.5 km³) per year. In 2004, world consumption of crude oil is on track to surpass 82 million barrels per day, 30 billion barrels per year. This puts consumption equal to production leaving no surplus capacity. It is estimated that oil reserves will become scarce by 2008. Whenever new oil wells are discovered, the date for the end of oil is pushed forward. However, oil reserve numbers do not include sources such as tar sands and bitumen which are currently uneconomical, nor does it take into account possible coal derived production. Old car tires, junkyard plastics, and crumbling asphalt roads can be melted down and oil extracted/recycled. Although these processes are not currently economical, they do vastly expand the amount of available hydrocarbons.
Most known reserves are concentrated in the Near East — around 41%. North America, Russia, and Antarctica are also rich in crude oil.
If (or when) all the oil on earth is used up, all of oil's products will disappear too: gasoline, oil lube, plastics, tires, roads, synthetic fabrics, etc. Science has already found many alternatives to all these products.
See also: List of oil fields, Petroleum
Petroleum