Oil production in a climate-constrained world

Petroleum is the single largest source of energy used by humanity. Petroleum provides about 35% of total primary energy supply and meets ablut 95% of our transportation energy needs. Some argue that this dominance is short lived due to rapid expansion of electric vehicles, while others argue for a continued role for petroleum well into this century. While visions for the future use of oil vary widely, most model projections suggest that humanity will consume at least 1 trillion more barrels of oil between now and the end of the century.  Where will this oil come from? What are the impacts of producing, refining, and consuming this oil? How can we make wise choices in the coming decades to minimize the climate impacts of oil use? In this talk I will outline our group’s modeling efforts to understand the current impacts of oil production around the world, as well as our work exploring the benefits of wise choices in resource prioritization, emissions management, and integration of renewables into oil sector operations.

Speaker: Adam Brandt, Stanford