The Oil Drum

31 comments on That saying about a picture and 1000 words...

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Jack on August 23, 2005 - 9:03am

The chart does a good job of making your point about the share of oil consumption from transportation - it may even understate it.

Something close to 5 million barrels per day or 20% of total consumption is lumped into an undefined category "Other". I followed the link to the DOE site, which describes the four main categories in some detail, noting the residual fuel oil consumption in the US is at about 4%. There is no mention of this huge "Other".

Presumably a lot of it is petrochemical feedstocks, but not 20% of the total barrel. Some portions may be lubricants, asphalt and other products. This would account for use in industry and households.

In any event, to the degree that a lot of this 20% is non-fuel, it might be safe to say that a far higher portion of the fuel produced from oil is used by transportation. Maybe close to 90%.

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Anonymous on August 23, 2005 - 10:29am

Other would be mostly heavy fuel oil, but would also include naptha, asphalt, and LPG. A heavy fuel oil needs preheating to flow and so is mostly only good for industrial heating use.

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Jack on August 23, 2005 - 12:30pm

Anonomous, As my comment and the linked article said, fuel oil is counted separately and is NOT part of "Other". This is from the DOE linked article, descrbing the "Residual" breakdown:

"Residual fuel oil, the heavy fuel used to run boilers for power generation and to propel tankers and other large vessels, once accounted for as much as 30 percent of the oil burned in stationary uses, and 20 percent of all United States oil use. By 1997, those shares had fallen to 7 percent and 4 percent, respectively."

I agree that "Other" would include naptha, asphalt, LPG and other petrochemical components, but these can not account for 20% of the barrel.

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Anonymous on August 24, 2005 - 5:49am

According to Lou's graphic further down the thread, LPG is about 10% of refinery output, so possibly feedstock, LPG, coke, lubricants, and asphalt could be 20% of the total.