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Crude oil (petroleum)

Petroleum, or "crude oil" or "oil", is a fossil fuel and nonrenewable source of energy.  It is made by 84.5% carbon, 13% hydrogen, 1–3% sulfur, and less than 1% each of nitrogen, oxygen, metals, and salts.  World oil demand is scaling record highs, boosted by summer travel, increased oil use in power gen, and surging Chinese petrochem activity [IEA, 2023].  Global oil output in 2024: 101.4 Mi barrels/day [VCAP, 2025].

Diesel fuel

Diesel fuel, or "diesel oil", is the main oil-derived fuel, obtained through crude oil distillation.  Because diesel is heavier on the molecular level (molar mass of 170g/mol vs 107g/mol of petrol), its energy density is greater than most other fossil fuels [XLM, 2023].  With gasoline (petrol) engines, only 20% of the fuel actually moves the vehicle and the rest is lost to friction, noise, or other engine functions.  Diesel engines, however, can reach 40% efficiency and more, making it much easier to move heavy vehicles and not exude a lot more fuel association with crude oil, both on land and on the ocean floor.

Diesel fuel use

Most freight and delivery trucks as well as trains, buses, boats, farm & construction machines, and some cars have diesel engines.  Diesel fuel is also used in diesel-engine generators to generate electricity.  Many industrial facilities, large buildings, institutional facilities, hospitals, and electric utilities have diesel generators for backup & emergency power supply.

e-Diesel

e-Diesel is a synthetic fuel made from green H2 and captured carbon sources such as CO₂ or CO from renewable syngas.  As a drop-in e-fuel, it can directly replace fossil diesel in existing engines, offering carbon-neutral operation since the CO₂ emitted during use is the same CO₂ captured in its production.

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​Industrial production mainly uses renewable Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis, where H₂/CO syngas reacts over cobalt or iron catalysts to form hydrocarbons that are then hydrocracked into diesel-range fuels.  The result is a high-quality, low-sulfur diesel substitute with excellent ignition properties, suitable for decarbonizing hard-to-electrify sectors like heavy transport, aviation, and agricultural machinery.

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Petroleum producers & consumers

Global oil production amounted to 93.9 million barrels per day in 2022 (14,929 million liters per day).  The level of oil production reached an all-time high in 2019, at nearly 95 million barrels [STAT, 2023].  The U.S. is the world's leading crude oil producer, followed by Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, and Canada.  Figure 1 shows world liquid fuel production from 2018 to 2024 (estimated).  Figure 2 shows the main oil producers (in 2022) & consumers (in 2021).  Figure 3 illustrates regional U.S. crude oil production, the world’s largest.

Figure 1: World liquid fuel (oil) production