What are the main uses of crude oil?
That is a very interesting question. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2008 Annual Energy Review has a very clear illustration of the division of Energy consumption. The review shows that crude oil (also known as petroleum), which is 37.1 percent of the U.S. energy source, is used the most for transportation. This energy sector makes up 71 percent of the total crude oil consumption. U.S. Motor gasoline consumption alone totals 378 million gallons a day (1431 liters/day). This high consumption of transportation fuels is due to the United State’s dependence on private vehicles. This demand for transportation fuels is only prevalent in The United States and Canada. Most places use more heating fuels than transportation fuels. Other widely used oil based fuels used for transportation are Diesel fuel, kerosene, and jet fuel.
Industrial heating, power and energy only plants create the second largest energy sector at 23 percent of crude oil consumption. These industrial energy only plants refer to large manufacturing plants. Petrochemicals like plastic, take a sufficient amount of oil in order to be manufactured. According to the EIA (Energy Information Administration) about 4.6 percent of the total U.S. consumption of crude oil was used in the production of feedstock (raw material) for plastic. In 2006, 329 million barrels were used as feed stock and two million barrels were used as fuel. Products such as fertilizers and pesticides, dyes, paint, detergent, photographic film, canned food, medicine, polyester, nylon, acrylic, make up, and candies are just a few popular every day items, like plastic, that contain crude oil.
Commercial heating/power and plants whose primary business is to sell electricity, make up the last six percent of crude oil usage. These energy sectors produce crude oil products and energy on a smaller scale than large manufacturing industries by targeting the consumer directly.
Most of the crude oil is used to obtain motor gasoline, diesel, heating oil, jet fuel, and liquefied petroleum gases. Thus the crude oil is mostly used to produce energy. Small portion of crude oil is converted into petrochemical feedstock used in production of plastics, rubber, fertilizers, cosmetics and the like.
