What’s Big Oil?

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Big Oil refers to major oil companies such as BP, Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron, which control 16% of the world’s oil. National governments of oil-producing nations make up Really Big Oil, which controls 84% of available global oil supplies. OPEC coordinates oil production and sets global prices per barrel. Big Oil buys oil from OPEC member countries and exports it to processing plants and refineries around the world. Oil reserves are rapidly depleting in areas managed by Big Oil, which has also developed techniques for extracting oil from sand, shale and other materials.

The term “Big Oil” is used to refer to major oil companies such as British Petroleum, Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron. These companies control a large share of the oil and petroleum products market. The 16% of the world’s oil available to private companies is dominated by these companies, which have immense collective economic, social and political power, especially in industrialized nations that are heavily dependent on crude oil products.

The national governments of oil-producing nations make up “Really Big Oil,” which controls 84% ​​of available global oil supplies. National oil companies are often criticized for being poorly managed and slow, resulting in disruptions to global oil supplies. These countries united in 1960 to form an Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which coordinates oil production and sets global prices per barrel. In theory, OPEC is supposed to control oil reserves to ensure a constant supply of oil to companies that process it for sale around the world, but in reality, OPEC dominates the global oil market, exerting a significant amount of clout. political and economic.

In addition to pumping its own oil, Big Oil buys oil from OPEC member countries and exports it to processing plants and refineries located around the world. Using existing supply and demand data, oil is refined to produce products such as gasoline and natural gas. In some nations, Big Oil has been accused of manipulating available supplies and prices to make a profit. Especially in countries where most citizens have to drive to get around, fluctuating gas prices can be frustrating and incomprehensible.

Because Big Oil has limited access to global oil supplies, it works hard to extract oil from sites it is allowed to access. As a result, oil reserves are rapidly depleting in areas managed by Big Oil, which has also developed techniques for extracting oil from sand, shale and other materials harboring traces of the precious resource. The vast reserves held by OPEC members are a source of frustration for Big Oil, because they are inefficiently managed and could command much higher yields. As a result, oil price fluctuations are also difficult to explain to consumers, especially when most of the big oil companies manage to make a very large profit globally.




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