Categories that

constitute total
resources. Discovered
resources consist of
reserves, which are
known deposits that are
economically minable
today, and deposits that
are known but that are
currently subeconomic.
Undiscovered resources
are hypothetical
deposits that we may
find. We can reasonably
depend on reserves, but
the areas that include
known subeconomic
deposits represent only
an educated guess of
what might become
available in the future
(from Press & Siever
2000).
Geología, S. Rosas

Photosynthesis
produces organic matter
from carbon dioxide
(CO2) and water (H2O). If
dead organic matter is
buried and transformed
into coal, oil, or natural
gas, it becomes a
fossilized product of
photosynthesis –a
fossil. The burning of
fossil fuels releases the
carbon dioxide and
water from which they
were made (from Press
& Siever 2000).

Geología, S. Rosas

1
 Oil traps: (a)
anticlinal trap; b)
fault trap; (c)
stratigraphic trap;
(d) oil trapped by a
salt dome. Natural
gas (green) and oil
(black) are trapped
by an impermeable
layer above the
permeable oil-
producing
formation. Oil
floats above the
waterline (from
Press & Siever
2000).

Geología, S. Rosas

Estimated world reserves of

crude oil (from Press & Siever
2000).

Geología, S. Rosas

2
Los diez países más ricos en petróleo (de Fontboté 2002) Geología, S. Rosas

The effect on wildlife of

an oil spill from an oil
tanker, The Exxon
Valdez, in Prince
William Sound, Alaska
(from Press & Siever
2000).

Geología, S. Rosas

3
A rough estimate of total remaining nonrenewable world energy resources amounts to about
360000 quads. Amounts are given in conventional units of weight (metric tons), volume
(barrels), and energy content (quads). A barrel of oil is 42 gallons. Coal and lignite
resources, for example, amount to 3.1 trillion metric tons, equivalent to 67,000 quads, or 19
percent of total energy resources (from Press & Siever 2000 and Grotzinger et al. 2007).
Geología, S. Rosas

The process by which

coal beds form begins
with the deposition of
vegetation. Protected
from complete decay
and oxidation in a
wetland environment,
the deposit is buried
and compressed into
peat. Subjected to
further burial, peat
undergoes mid
metamorphism, which
transforms it
succesively into
lignite, subbituminous
and anthracite (hard
coal), as the deposit
becomes more deeply
buried, temperature
rises, and structural
deformation
progresses (from
Press & Siever 2000).
Geología, S. Rosas

4
Solar cells convert sunlight, a renewable resource, into electric energy at
this utility in a remote village in Nepal (from Press & Siever 2000). Geología, S. Rosas

The Geysers, the world’s largest supply of natural steam. The geothermal energy is
converted into electricity for San Francisco, 120 km to the south (from Press & Siever
2000).
Geología, S. Rosas

5
Wairakei Geothermal Power Station, North Island, New Zealand Geología, S. Rosas

Actual and projected energy consumption, 1990-2020, by

regional groupings (from Grotzinger et al. 2007).

Geología, S. Rosas

6
Estimated world oil reserves at the end of 2004 by region (from Grotzinger et al. 2007).

Geología, S. Rosas