When Will Fossil Fuels Run Out?
The three fossil fuels, oil, natural gas and coal, were formed millions of years ago when dead plants and animals were trapped under deposits and became buried underneath land. Compression over time fossilised the remains, creating carbon-rich fuel sources. All fossil fuels are finite - the deposits that exist cannot be replenished when they are used. With further use, all are in danger of running out.
The question of when each one will actually run out, however, is a tricky one. There are many different opinions and calculations and none really agree on the exact timing. Many different factors need to be considered including how much of each deposit is left in the Earth, how fast we are using each fossil fuel at the moment, and how this is likely to change in the future. If we start switching to alternative fuel sources that are renewable rather than non-renewable, the reserves that we have will obvious last longer.
Natural Gas
Some experts believe that current natural gas deposits fill around 6000 trillion cubic feet that could, with the current level of usage, last for about 50 years. This assumes that there are still no new sources of natural gas still to find. The difficulties in transporting natural gas (because of its explosive nature) mean that it tends to be used fairly locally to its source. The gas fields of the North Sea have been a rich resource for the UK but other countries in Europe obtain their supplies through long underground pipelines from Russia, which are hundreds of miles long. As the pipeline runs through several countries, the continuity of the supply can be compromised by political disputes.Oil
The world could still have oil reserves that would fill 800 million barrels, with about half of that in the Middle East. Because we use oil to manufacture many materials, including plastics, we use oil at a much faster rate than either natural gas or coal. People have been expecting oil to run out within the next few years since at least the 1990s. No doubt it is currently getting scarcer, and as a result more expensive, but current estimates suggest we will not actually run out until between 2025 and 2070.Coal
Coal is the fossil fuel with the greatest reserves and coal reserves are spread all over the Earth. It is very labour intensive to recover as it lies deep below the surface, usually around 300 feet below land level and deposits can only be a few centimetres thick.Most of the coal deposits have not been tapped yet and the decline of the coal mining industry in the UK means that the coal seams still there are currently lying undisturbed. If we carry on using coal at the same rate as we do today, we could have enough coal to last well over a thousand years. However, as other fossil fuels run out, particularly oil, the use of coal may increase, reducing that time span considerably.
