StatsGuru-23-June-14

Decoding the spike in oil prices due to the Iraq crisis

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Instability and violence in Iraq have led to another spike in oil prices, which hurts India more than most. True, as Table 1 shows, India does not demand as much oil as some other parts of the world. But it imports the bulk of its hydrocarbons, which leaves it more exposed. Table 2 shows the parts of the world that produce the most oil. Within OPEC, as Table 3 shows, Iraq continues to be a valuable source of future oil, with the world's fifth-largest proven reserves. As Table 4 shows, oil continues to be the biggest source of energy. True, coal comes close - but the international prices of coal, as Table 5 reveals, have not been stable, either.

A surprisingly large proportion of energy comes from biomass - and Table 6 shows why; it is overwhelmingly used in homes and farms in developing countries, in amounts equivalent to the total oil demand in India, China, West Asia and Africa put together.

More than half of the world's oil use is for transportation, according to Table 7. And, as Table 8 shows, the demand for diesel is actually higher than the demand for petrol.