PETROLEUM AND DERIVATIVES DIVISION

The leading role of oil in the world economy derives from two different and closely connected facts: oil is one of the most important sources of energy and is also the fundamental raw material for a large part of the chemical industry. Oil covers 40% of global energy consumption, far exceeding all other primary sources; it is in fact followed at a distance by coal (23%) and natural gas (23%), while hydroelectric energy or energy produced with power plants does not reach 14%.

It must immediately be said that oil is not used as such to obtain energy from its combustion, but since it is a mixture of many different substances it is first processed, obtaining fuel oils, naphtha, diesel and petrol. These products have a different final energy destination - to heat or to move means of transport - but they are all burned anyway.