What is the role of oil in human progress? (Part IV)

From MasterResource

By Julian Salazar Velásquez

Editor. Note: Geologist and petroleum engineer Julián Salazar Velásquez, with nearly half a century of work in the Mexican and Venezuelan oil industries, is a leading educator and proponent of free-market energy. In addition to many articles, his book Gerencia Integrada de Campos de Hidrocarburos (2020) is a preliminary study on the oil industry value chain. His four-part summary (see Part I, Part II, and Part III) ends today.

“I had two choices: to remain silent in the last years of my life and witness the devastation of the world economy, as just happened in Venezuela. Or warn many of the threat to lucky lives to avoid repeat destruction. With a clear conscience, I choose the second way!”

The role of fossil fuels in the progress of mankind during the four revolutions is undeniable:

• Mechanization with coal-fired steam engines;
• Massive electricity, first generated by coal and then by water, oil and natural gas
• Information technology
• Digitization and artificial intelligence

The mineral energy story can incorporate one of the other very important indicators of quality of life, such as development of agriculture, animal husbandry and food production. (Figures 12 and 13)

Agricultural development is similar to other indicators seen before, in that global progress is reflected in the leading role of fossil fuels from coal and oil in starting and opening. later expansion of the Industrial Revolution.

In this case, the use of land for farming and grazing, which directly affects the food supply, has also increased exponentially since 1850, to a value of less than a billion hectares before the that has grown to five billion hectares today. Consider that fossil fuels move agricultural machinery represented by tractors, irrigation equipment, harvesters and food transporters – and consider petrochemical products derived from oil and gas Combustion such as fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and fungicides used in agriculture has facilitated the development of agriculture that provides food with a growing world population, currently at 8 billion. People.

As a result, the fateful predictions of world hunger, the 1972 and 1976 predictions of the Club of Rome and Stanford University, respectively, were not fulfilled. Quite the contrary, the current public health problem is the prevalence of obesity caused by overeating and other problems.

Many readers may ask: Which fuels such as coal, oil and gas do not cause environmental pollution or side effects in daily life?

Yes of course! All human and industrial activities create impacts on the environment, and environmental protection laws and regulations govern solid, liquid and gaseous waste in all countries. But this is not why campaigns propose banning everything that has an impact on the environment, even if the benefits of what is banned are great compared to the trade-offs.

Oil and gas exploration and production (and the use of fuels and products thereof) cannot be banned because of environmental pollution, when it can be minimized by using technology and following statutory procedures. Promote and impose “anti-oil” campaigns based on assumed negative CO . effects₂ emissions are the problem, misdirection, need to be redirected.

As I mentioned in my most recent article on the subject, published on my networks and in the Petroleum Journal: Energy transformation or transgression?:

…when analyzing the disclosure of the causes and the action to be taken to combat the phenomenon, it is clear that the coverage of the vast majority of media, social networks and technology, favors the line of thought. The first thought is, for example, towards the origins of CO2 and CH4 emissions and actions to reduce or eliminate the use of fossil fuels in the medium term and promote the “energy transition”. “. Considering the foregoing, I responsibly assert that “if we start from a diagnosis without a proven scientific basis, then actions driven by international politics results, such as reducing or banning the use of fuels derived from hydrocarbons, are incorrect and do not have any effect. in climate phenomena; its consequences will therefore have a very strong negative impact on the global economy.

Conclusion

At this stage of my life, to fulfill my mission of disseminating my knowledge, experience and beliefs, as an expert in the upstream oil industry, it is my inescapable duty. is condemning the campaign to “demonize” fossil fuels despite their great contributions to humans. Welfare. Mineral energy, fossil fuels, carbon-based energy—abundant, affordable, storable, and reliable—is essential to the world’s progress.

I am an eyewitness, not because I have read it, seen it on television, or been told about it, but because I have experienced the devastation of Venezuela and its oil industry by promoting and implementing it. economic and political models are not feasible. What has happened in my country is the same as what is being pushed on a global level. Giving up freedom and ravaging a utilitarian industry on artificial grounds is like driving a car with both the accelerator and the brake used simultaneously.

I had two choices: to remain silent in the last years of my life and to witness the devastation of the world economy as happened in Venezuela. Or warn many of the threat to lucky lives to avoid repeat destruction. With a clear conscience, I choose the second way!

-FINISH-

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