Abstract
SINCE the foundation of the mineral oil industry many a prediction of an oil shortage to occur within the lifetime of the prophet has been made; but in spite of the astounding increase in the use of oil as a fuel within the last two decades, a consumption which is certainly still far from having reached its peak value, there is not the remotest reason to anticipate an oil shortage within the next hundred years. Indeed, in view of the known reserves of oil in hitherto untapped fields, and of the vast quantities still remaining underground in partially exploited districts, future generations should be secure against an oil shortage for at least a thousand years. To-day, the world's output of oil is far below the capacity of wells actually in production, and were it not for output -limiting agreements between oil-producing interests the market would be flooded.
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Oil and the Oil Engine. Nature 122, 1001–1002 (1928). https://doi.org/10.1038/1221001a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1221001a0