10 countries rich in natural resources. Natural resources of the world economy

This list opens with the largest country in terms of territory - Russia. The entire value of the reserves is estimated at. This amount includes such reserves as:

Oil is 7.08 trillion US dollars, which is 60 billion barrels.
Natural gas - 19 trillion US dollars, reserves - 48 trillion. cubic meters
The tree is 28.4 trillion US dollars, which is 1.95 billion acres.

75.7 trillion US dollars It would seem that it would be easy to extract natural reserves in such a territory, but this is not at all as simple as it seems at first glance. The whole difficulty lies in building nodal points and pipeline routes that stretch for hundreds of kilometers in order to connect the far corners of the country. In addition to the pipeline, the operation of the railways also requires constant debugging. Whatever method of transporting reserves you prefer, it will cost a pretty penny.
In addition to oil, gas and wood, the Russian Federation also has a huge reserve of coal (2nd place in the world ranking) and gold (3rd place in the world ranking), as well as earth minerals (2nd place in the world ranking), which, unfortunately, are not extracted .

The United States of America (USA) is in 2nd place in terms of the number of natural reserves and their cost.
The states deserve this position due to the presence of:

9.34 trillion cubic meters meters of natural gas, worth 3.1 trillion US dollars.
750 million acres of trees, valued at US$10.9 trillion.
The oil stock is 20.7 billion barrels, which is not in the TOP 10 global indicators.

The total value of all the above reserves is 45 trillion US dollars.
In addition, the United States is rich in coal, whose reserves account for 31.3% of world reserves. These reserves are estimated at 30 trillion US dollars. Since the percentage of coal reserves is so high, it is the most valuable reserve not only for the country, but for the entire world.
The largest percentage of US natural reserves, 89%, belongs to coal and wood.
In addition to the reserves described above, the United States also has deposits of copper and gold.

Saudi Arabia is in third place on the list of countries with the largest natural reserves.
To occupy the third level it is enough to have:

266.7 billion barrels of oil, which costs 31.5 trillion US dollars.
358.5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, which is valued at 2.9 trillion US dollars.

The tree reserves available in Saudi Arabia do not fall into the TOP10, but even without them the total value of all the above reserves is 34.4 trillion American dollars.

If we consider that all oil reserves on Earth are 100%, then 20 of them are located in Saudi Arabia. This figure is the largest among other countries.
The only drawback is that all reserves are gradually depleted and the country will gradually leave its leadership in such a rating. But this may not happen earlier than in tens of years.

Ranked in fourth place, the total value of all available natural reserves is 33.2 trillion American dollars. This cost includes reserves such as:

178.1 billion barrels of oil (worth 21 trillion US dollars).
775 million acres of trees (valued at US$11.3 trillion).

Canada also has phosphate deposits, as well as uranium reserves (3rd place in the world ranking).

In total, the country has US$27.3 trillion, at which reserves such as:

136.2 billion barrels of oil, which costs 16.1 trillion US dollars.
34.8 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, valued at 11.2 trillion US dollars.

Iran shares gas fields with Qatar, as they are located in the Persian Gulf. The part of the Gulf that belongs to Iran contains 16% of all natural gas reserves. And 136.2 billion barrels of oil (this number is approximately 10% of all reserves on Earth) allows Iran to be in 3rd place in the ranking of oil volumes.
Unfortunately, Iran has problems with the sale of its reserves, since the country has moved away from international relations and its detachment from markets.

The powerful country is known for its technical inventions and is ranked sixth in the ranking of countries with the largest number of natural reserves.
In China there is:

450 million acres of trees, valued at US$6.5 trillion.
Oil and natural gas funds do not reach the levels satisfied by the TOP-10.

The total value of all the above reserves is 23 trillion US dollars.
The assessment of natural reserves largely includes coal reserves (13% of all world reserves) and rare earth minerals.

The total value of all reserves in Brazil is 21.8 trillion American dollars.

The main contributor to the total value is wood, which covers an area of 1.2 billion acres and is valued at $17.5 trillion.
Oil and natural gas funds do not reach the top 10.

Both gold and uranium have their percentage. In addition, there are 17% of the world's iron ore reserves. The above wood reserves represent 12.3% of the world's reserves, which is the most valuable for Brazil.
Although there have been recent discoveries of offshore oil, estimated at 44 billion barrels, it would be inaccurate to account for them and move the country to a higher place in the ranking.

Despite the fact that the total value of all natural reserves of the country is US$19.9 trillion, the main reserves (oil and natural gas) do not fall into the TOP10 positions. But the tree is 369 million acres, which is estimated at 5.3 trillion US dollars. More valuable in Australia are coal, copper, iron and, of course, trees.
14.3% of all world gold reserves are located in Australia, and 46% of uranium also comes out to the world from this country. Natural gas available in the country is produced on the shelf coast located in the north-west of the country.

The total value of reserves includes such natural gifts as:

Oil, in the amount of 115 billion barrels and worth 13.6 trillion US dollars.
Natural gas with a volume of 3.1 trillion cubic meters, which is valued at 1.3 trillion US dollars.
The tree does not affect the total amount of natural reserves, which amount to 15.9 trillion US dollars (based on the above figures).

Iraq's oil accounts for 9% of the world's reserves and is considered the country's greatest asset. But the use of these fuel reserves has several features, which mainly consist in the settlement of political relations with the central government and Kurdistan (the country has relative rights to the oil produced). But in overcoming such an obstacle, oil production is set up in such a way that it happens relatively easily.
In addition, Iraq also has reserves of phosphorites, which contribute another 1.1 trillion US dollars to the total value of all the country’s natural reserves. But phosphorite deposits have not yet been fully developed for their extraction.

Venezuela completes the ranking. This country has the total value of all natural reserves 14.3 trillion American dollars.
This amount comes out when put together:

99.4 billion barrels of oil (11.7 trillion US dollars). This figure means that the country owns 7.4% of the world's oil reserves
5.5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas (1.9 trillion US dollars). This figure means that the country owns 2.7% of the world's reserves.

In addition, the total amount is affected by the presence of iron.

The topic "Geography of the world's natural resources" is one of the central topics in the school geography course. What are natural resources? What types of them stand out, and how are they distributed across the planet? What factors determine geography? Read about this in the article.

What are natural resources?

The geography of the world's natural resources is extremely important for understanding the development of the world economy and the economies of individual states. This concept can be interpreted in different ways. In the broadest sense, this is the entire complex of natural benefits necessary for humans. In a narrow sense, natural resources mean a set of goods of natural origin that can serve as sources for production.

Natural resources are not just used in economic activities. Without them, in fact, the existence of human society as such is impossible. One of the most important and pressing problems of modern geographical science is the geography of the world's natural resources (10th grade of secondary school). Both geographers and economists study this issue.

Classification of the Earth's natural resources

The planet's natural resources are classified according to various criteria. Thus, they distinguish between exhaustible and inexhaustible resources, as well as partially renewable ones. According to the prospects for their use, natural resources are divided into industrial, agricultural, energy, recreational and tourist, etc.

According to genetic classification, natural resources include:

mineral;
land;
aquatic;
forest;
biological (including resources of the World Ocean);
energy;
climatic;
recreational.

Features of the planetary distribution of natural resources

What features does geography represent? How are they distributed across the planet?

It is immediately worth noting that the world's natural resources are distributed extremely unevenly between states. Thus, nature has endowed several countries (such as Russia, the USA or Australia) with a wide range of minerals. Others (for example, Japan or Moldova) have to be content with only two or three types of mineral raw materials.

As for consumption volumes, about 70% of the world's natural resources are used by the countries of the USA, Canada and Japan, where no more than nine percent of the world's population lives. But a group of developing countries, which account for about 60% of the world's population, consume only 15% of the planet's natural resources.

The geography of the world's natural resources is uneven not only in relation to minerals. In terms of forest, land, and water resources, countries and continents also differ greatly from each other. Thus, most of the planet's fresh water is concentrated in the glaciers of Antarctica and Greenland - regions with minimal population. At the same time, dozens of African states are experiencing acute

Such an uneven geography of the world's natural resources forces many countries to solve the problem of their shortage in different ways. Some do this by actively financing geological exploration activities, others are introducing the latest energy-saving technologies and maximally reducing the material consumption of their production.

World natural resources (mineral) and their distribution

Mineral raw materials are natural components (substances) that are used by humans in production or to generate electricity. Mineral resources are important for the economy of any state. Our planet's crust contains about two hundred minerals. 160 of them are actively mined by humans. Depending on the method and scope of use, mineral resources are divided into several types:

Perhaps the most important mineral resource today is oil. It is rightly called “black gold”; major wars were fought (and are still being fought) for it. Typically, oil occurs along with associated natural gas. The main regions for the extraction of these resources in the world are Alaska, Texas, the Middle East, and Mexico. Another fuel resource is coal (hard and brown). It is mined in many countries (more than 70).

Ore mineral resources include ores of ferrous, non-ferrous and precious metals. Geological deposits of these minerals often have a clear connection to the zones of crystalline shields - protrusions of the platform foundations.

Non-metallic mineral resources have completely different uses. Thus, granite and asbestos are used in the construction industry, potassium salts - in the production of fertilizers, graphite - in nuclear energy, etc. The geography of the world's natural resources is presented in more detail below. The table includes a list of the most important and sought-after minerals.

Mineral resource	Leading countries in its production
	Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, USA, Iran
Coal	USA, Russia, India, China, Australia
Oil shale	China, USA, Estonia, Sweden, Germany
Iron ore	Russia, China, Ukraine, Brazil, India
Manganese ore	China, Australia, South Africa, Ukraine, Gabon
Copper ores	Chile, USA, Peru, Zambia, DR Congo
Uranium ores	Australia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Niger, Namibia
Nickel ores	Canada, Russia, Australia, Philippines, New Caledonia
	Australia, Brazil, India, China, Guinea
	USA, South Africa, Canada, Russia, Australia
	South Africa, Australia, Russia, Namibia, Botswana
Phosphorites	USA, Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Iraq
	France, Greece, Norway, Germany, Ukraine
Potassium salt	Russia, Ukraine, Canada, Belarus, China
Native sulfur	USA, Mexico, Iraq, Ukraine, Poland

Land resources and their geography

Land resources are one of the most important resources of the planet and of any country in the world. This concept refers to the part of the Earth's surface suitable for life, construction and agriculture. The world land fund is about 13 billion hectares of area. It includes:

Different countries have different land resources. Some have vast expanses of free land at their disposal (Russia, Ukraine), while others experience an acute shortage of free space (Japan, Denmark). Agricultural land is extremely unevenly distributed: about 60% of the world's arable land is in Eurasia, while Australia has only 3%.

Water resources and their geography

Water is the most abundant and most important mineral on Earth. It was in it that earthly life originated, and it is water that is necessary for every living organism. The planet's water resources mean all surface and underground water that is used by humans or can be used in the future. Fresh water is especially in demand. It is used in everyday life, in production and in the agricultural sector. The maximum reserves of fresh river flow fall in Asia and Latin America, and the minimum in Australia and Africa. Moreover, on one third of the world's landmass the problem with fresh water is especially acute.

The richest countries in the world in terms of freshwater reserves include Brazil, Russia, Canada, China and the USA. But the five countries least supplied with fresh water look like this: Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Jordan.

Forest resources and their geography

Forests are often called the “lungs” of our planet. And completely justified. After all, they play an important climate-forming, water-protection, and recreational role. Forest resources include forests themselves, as well as all their useful qualities - protective, recreational, medicinal, etc.

According to statistics, about 25% of the earth's land is covered by forests. The bulk of them are in the so-called “northern forest belt,” which includes countries such as Russia, Canada, the USA, Sweden, and Finland.

The table below shows the countries that are leaders in terms of forest cover in their territories:

	Percentage of area covered by forests
French Guiana


Mozambique

Biological resources of the planet

Biological resources are all plant and animal organisms that are used by humans for various purposes. Floristic resources are more in demand in the modern world. In total, there are about six thousand species of cultivated plants on the planet. However, only one hundred of them are widely distributed throughout the world. In addition to cultivated plants, people actively breed livestock and poultry and use strains of bacteria in agriculture and industry.

Biological resources are classified as renewable. Nevertheless, with their modern, sometimes predatory and ill-considered use, some of them are threatened with destruction.

Geography of the world's natural resources: environmental problems

Modern environmental management is characterized by a number of serious environmental problems. Active mining of minerals not only pollutes the atmosphere and soil, but also significantly alters the surface of our planet, changing some landscapes beyond recognition.

What words are associated with modern geography of world natural resources? Pollution, depletion, destruction... Unfortunately, it's true. Thousands of hectares of ancient forests disappear from the face of our planet every year. Poaching is destroying rare and endangered species of animals. Heavy industry pollutes soils with metals and other harmful substances.

There is an urgent need to change the concept of human behavior in the natural environment at a global level. Otherwise, the future of world civilization will not look very bright.

The phenomenon of the “resource curse”

The “paradox of abundance”, or “resource curse”, is the name of a phenomenon in economics that was first formulated in 1993 by Richard Auty. The essence of this phenomenon is as follows: states with significant natural resource potential, as a rule, are characterized by low economic growth and development. In turn, countries “poor” in natural resources achieve great economic success.

There are indeed a lot of examples confirming this conclusion in the modern world. People first started talking about the “resource curse” of countries back in the 80s of the last century. Some researchers already traced this trend in their works.

Economists identify several main reasons explaining this phenomenon:

lack of desire on the part of the authorities to carry out effective and necessary reforms;
development of corruption based on “easy money”;
a decrease in the competitiveness of other sectors of the economy that are not so heavily dependent on natural resources.

Conclusion

The geography of the world's natural resources is extremely uneven. This applies to almost all of their types - mineral, energy, land, water, forest.

Some states own large reserves of mineral resources, but the mineral resource potential of other countries is significantly limited to just a few types. True, an exceptional supply of natural resources does not always guarantee a high standard of living or the development of the economy of a particular state. A striking example of this are countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and others. This phenomenon has even received its name in economics - the “resource curse.”

The mineral resources of the planet are all the minerals that humanity produces. Resources available and suitable for industrial use are called the mineral resource base. And today more than 200 types of mineral raw materials are used.

Natural minerals become resources only after their extraction and use in industry and economics have been mastered. For example, people began to use coal a long time ago, but it gained industrial significance only at the end of the 17th century. Oil began to be widely used in industry only in the 19th century, and uranium ores only in the middle of the last century.

World Mineral Resources Map

(Click on the picture to enlarge the image many times over and download it in full size 1600x1126 pxl)

The distribution of mineral resources on the planet is uneven, and is largely related to the tectonic structure. Every year, more and more new mineral deposits are discovered and developed.

Most reserves are found in mountainous areas. Recently, there has been active development of mineral deposits at the bottom of oceans and seas.

Types of Earth's mineral resources

There is no unified classification of mineral resources. There is a fairly conditional classification by type of use:

Non-ferrous metal ores: aluminum, copper, nickel, lead, cobalt, zinc, tin, antimony, molybdenum, mercury;

Mining chemicals: apatites, salts, phosphorites, sulfur, boron, bromine, iodine;

Ores of rare and precious metals: silver, gold,

Precious and ornamental stones.

Industrial raw materials: talc, quartz, asbestos, graphite, mica;

Construction materials: marble, slate, tuff, basalt, granite;

There is another classification of types of mineral resources:

. Liquid(oil, mineral waters);

. Solid(ores, salts, coal, granite, marble);

. Gaseous(flammable gases, methane, helium).

Extraction and use of mineral resources in the world

Mineral resources are the basis of modern industry and scientific and technological progress. Without them, it is impossible to imagine the existence of most industries: chemical, construction, food, light, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy. Mechanical engineering with its numerous branches is also based on the use of mineral raw materials.

Fuel resources are of great importance. They are of sedimentary origin and are most often located on ancient tectonic platforms. In the world, 60% of fuel mineral resources come from coal, 15% from natural gas, and 12% from oil. Everything else is a share of peat, oil shale and other minerals.

Mineral reserves (by country of the world)

The ratio of proven reserves of mineral resources and the extent of their use is called the country's resource availability. Most often, this value is measured by the number of years for which these same reserves should last. There are only a few countries in the world that have significant mineral reserves. Among the leaders are Russia, the USA and China.

The largest coal mining countries are Russia, the USA and China. 80% of all coal in the world is mined here. The largest coal reserves are in the northern hemisphere. The most coal-poor countries are in South America.

Over 600 oil fields have been explored in the world, and another 450 are just being developed. The richest countries in oil are Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Russia, Iran, UAE, Mexico, USA.

At current rates of oil production, according to geologists, the reserves of this fuel in already developed fields will last for 45-50 years.

The countries that lead the world in gas reserves are Russia, Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Rich gas deposits have been discovered in Central Asia, Mexico, the USA, Canada and Indonesia. The global economy will have enough natural gas reserves for 80 years.

All other mineral resources are also distributed very unevenly on the planet. Iron is mostly mined in Russia and Ukraine. South Africa and Australia are rich in manganese ores. Nickel is most mined in Russia, cobalt in Congo and Zambia, tungsten and molybdenum in the USA and Canada. Chile, the USA and Peru are rich in copper, Australia has a lot of zinc, and China and Indonesia lead in tin reserves.

Problems of extraction and use of mineral resources

Mineral resources are among the non-renewable natural reserves of our planet. That is why the main problem is the depletion of the world's mineral reserves.

In order to rationally use the mineral resources of our planet, scientists are constantly working to improve methods of extraction and processing of all minerals. It is important not only to extract as much mineral raw materials as possible, but also to use them to the maximum and take care of complete waste disposal.

(The largest diamond quarry, Mirny village, Yakutia)

When developing deposits, a whole range of work is carried out aimed at protecting the environment: atmosphere, soil, water, vegetation and wildlife.

In order to preserve mineral reserves, synthetic materials are being developed - analogues that can replace the most scarce minerals.

To create potential reserves of mineral resources, much attention is paid to geological exploration.

The area of our planet is about 510.073 million km². An area of 361.132 million km² is occupied by water, that is, 71.8% of the total area of the planet. Land occupies 148.94 million km², that is, 29.2% of the planet's area. Almost half of the total landmass is occupied by the 12 largest countries in the world. In our rating, we will briefly talk about these countries, what area they occupy, and what role they play on the geographical map of the world.

12

Twelfth place in the list of the largest countries in the world is occupied by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - the largest state on the Arabian Peninsula. This country covers an area of 2.218 million km², which is approximately 1.4% of all land on the planet. Administratively, it is divided into 13 provinces (103 districts). Saudi Arabia borders many countries: Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen. It is washed by the Persian Gulf in the northeast and the Red Sea in the west. The basis of Saudi Arabia's economy is oil exports, as it has 25% of the world's reserves.

11

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second largest country on the African continent with a territory of approximately 2.345 million km², which is approximately 1.57% of the total land area on earth. In the southwest it is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and borders Angola, Congo, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Zambia. The country is divided into 26 provinces. The country has the world's largest reserves of cobalt, germanium, tantalum, diamonds, Africa's largest reserves of uranium, tungsten, copper, zinc, tin, significant deposits of oil, coal, ores, iron, manganese, gold and silver. Large hydropower and forest resources.

10

The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria is the largest state on the African continent, with an area of approximately 2.381 million km², which is approximately 1.59% of the total land area. Algeria borders Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya and Tunisia. About 80% of the country's territory is occupied by the Sahara Desert, which consists of separate sandy and rocky deserts. Algeria has such natural resources as ores of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, manganese and phosphorite. The basis of Algeria's economy is gas and oil. They provide 30% of GDP, 60% of state budget revenues and 95% of export earnings. Algeria ranks 8th in the world in gas reserves and 4th in the world in gas exports. Algeria ranks 15th in the world in oil reserves and 11th in its exports.

9

On the ninth line of the list of the largest countries is the Republic of Kazakhstan, a state located in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. The country's territory covers an area of about 2.725 million km², which is approximately 1.82% of the total land area on the planet. Kazakhstan is the largest country in the world without access to the World Ocean. It borders with the Russian Federation, China, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It is washed by the waters of the Caspian and Aral seas. Administratively, it is divided into 14 regions. Kazakhstan ranks first in the world in proven reserves of zinc, tungsten and barite, second in silver, lead and chromite, third in copper and fluorite, fourth in molybdenum, sixth in gold.

8

The Argentine Republic is the second largest country in South America with an area of about 2.767 million km², which is approximately 1.85% of the total land area of our planet. It borders Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay. In the east it is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Argentina is a federal republic divided into 23 provinces and 1 federal capital district. The country is distinguished by its reserves of uranium, manganese, copper ores, and beryllium; there are lead-zinc, tungsten and iron ores. Argentina is one of the top ten countries in the world in terms of uranium ore reserves.

7

The Republic of India is a state in South Asia with a territory of about 3.287 million km², which is approximately 2.2% of the total land area. India shares borders with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The country consists of 25 states and 7 union territories. The Indian subcontinent is home to many ancient civilizations and religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. India's major natural resources are arable land, bauxite, coal, diamonds, iron ore, limestone, manganese, gas, petroleum and titanium ores. The main exports are textiles, jewelry, engineering products and software. The main imports are oil, machinery, fertilizers and chemicals.

6

Australia is a country in the Southern Hemisphere, occupying the mainland of Australia, the island of Tasmania and several other islands of the Indian and Pacific oceans, totaling about 7.692 million km² or 5.16% of the total land area. The country borders East Timor, Indonesia, Guinea, Vanuatu, Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Zealand. Australia consists of six states, three mainland territories and other smaller territories. Australia's natural resource potential is 20 times higher than the world average. The country ranks 1st in the world in reserves of bauxite, zirconium and uranium, 6th in coal reserves. It has significant reserves of manganese, gold, diamonds and minor deposits of oil and natural gas.

5

The Federative Republic of Brazil is the largest country in South America by area and occupies approximately 8.514 million km², which is about 5.71% of the total land area. It borders with all the countries of South America, except Chile and Ecuador: French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. From the east the coast is washed by the Atlantic Ocean. Brazil also includes several archipelagos. Brazil is divided into 26 states and 1 federal district. More than 40 types of minerals are mined in Brazil. The most significant are iron and manganese ores. Brazil is a supplier of strategic raw materials: tungsten, niobium, zirconium, etc. The Amazon has significant reserves of gold.

4

The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world with approximately 9.519 million km² of land area, which is about 6.39% of the total land area on earth. The United States borders Canada and Mexico and also has a maritime border with Russia. They are washed by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Administratively, the country is divided into 50 states and the District of Columbia; a number of island territories are also subordinate to the United States. The US Constitution is in force on the uninhabited Palmyra Atoll. The remaining territories have their own basic legislation. The largest of these territories is Puerto Rico. The United States is the world's largest economy and has many natural resources, including energy and raw materials.

3

The top three largest countries in the world are closed by the People's Republic of China with approximately 9.597 million km² or 6.44% of all land on the planet. China is the largest country by population (1.3 billion), and Chinese civilization is one of the oldest in the world. The country borders the DPRK, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. It is washed by the waters of the western seas of the Pacific Ocean. The People's Republic of China is divided into 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 special administrative regions. China is rich in fuel and raw materials. Reserves of oil, coal, metal ores and precious metals are of great importance.

2

The second place is occupied by the Northern neighbor of the United States, Canada, with an area of 9.985 million km² or 6.7% of the total land area. The country has borders with the USA, Denmark (Greenland) and France (Saint Pierre and Miquelon). Canada's border with the United States is the longest shared border in the world. It is washed by the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans. Canada is divided into 10 provinces and 3 territories. Canada is one of the richest and one of the ten most trading countries in the world. The country is a net energy exporter, with vast natural gas and oil deposits in Alberta and the Athabasca region, making Canada the world's second largest country in terms of oil reserves after Saudi Arabia.

1

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world and, with its 17.152 million km² or about 11.5% of the planet's total land area, it is almost twice the size of Canada. It is divided into 87 administrative-territorial units, 46 of which are regions, 23 are republics, 9 are territories, 4 are federal cities, 4 are autonomous okrugs and 1 is an autonomous region. Russia borders on 18 countries: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Abkhazia, Georgia, South Ossetia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, North Korea. Russia has the world's largest proven natural gas reserves and is also its largest producer. The country is in the top three in terms of the volume of oil produced, and in terms of the volume of its exports it ranks second. There are large deposits of coal, iron ore, nickel, tin, gold, diamonds, platinum, lead and zinc.

Oil is often called the black gold of modern times. Oil reserves are distributed extremely unevenly across countries. However, absolutely everyone needs this fuel today.

Oil is the No. 1 mineral

The word petroleum, which means oil in many languages, consists of two roots. One of them, "petra" is Latin, and is translated as "stone". The second, “oleum,” is Greek and translates as “oil.” Thus, literally oil is (that is, oil extracted from the earth).

It is known that oil was actively used in Ancient India (in construction), in Babylon (for embalming the bodies of the dead), in Ancient Greece (as fuel). Since the first decades of the twentieth century, it has become the main energy resource on the planet.

So what is oil? It is an oily liquid of natural origin, which consists of a combination of different hydrocarbons. The color of this substance can vary: from rich black to yellowish and even green. The smell of oil is specific and, as a rule, unpleasant, which is explained by its chemical composition.

Oil reserves are distributed very unevenly across countries. Basically, its largest deposits are confined to zones with a thick cover of sedimentary rocks.

The countries with the largest oil reserves (per capita) are Qatar, Kuwait, Turkmenistan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Libya. By the way, if you recalculate the total oil reserves of Qatar in monetary terms, it turns out that for each citizen of this country there are about 6 billion dollars!

The use of oil in the modern world

Crude oil is practically never used. To obtain technically valuable products (gasoline, solvents, etc.), it must be processed in special plants.

In addition to the fact that oil is very valuable, it is also used for the production of plastics, various plasticizers and additives, dyes, and synthetic rubber.

Oil is a resource that has a number of benefits. Firstly, it has very high energy density. Secondly, oil is quite easily transported over long distances (this is done using pipelines or tankers - huge sea vessels). Thirdly, it can be used to produce a wide range of different products. All these aspects make oil one of the most sought-after commodities on the world market.

However, the reserves of this mineral are rapidly depleting. That is why some countries with significant oil reserves (in particular the United States) began to search (for oil shale, biofuels, and the like).

Features of modern oil production

Until about the mid-70s, oil was produced in the world at a frantic pace. So, if in 1970 about 2 billion tons of this energy resource were extracted from the bowels of the earth, then in 1973 - already 2.8 billion tons. In the early 1980s, global oil production decreased slightly.

Oil production on an industrial scale began in the mid-19th century. During all this time, over forty billion tons of this resource have been “pumped” out of the earth.

Leading countries in the world in terms of oil reserves

Now let's take a closer look at the geography of distribution of this valuable energy resource.

Oil reserves vary greatly across countries. Thus, some states are completely deprived of this wealth, while others are literally swimming in black gold. The top ten countries by total oil reserves are as follows (see table).

As for oil production volumes, the leaders here are the following countries:

Saudi Arabia.
Russia.
Iran.
China.

Taking into account two indicators - total oil reserves and annual oil production volumes, you can easily calculate how many years this energy resource will last for each country.

So, the least thing to worry about is Venezuela - it will have enough oil (at today's production rates) for another 235 years. But countries such as Russia, the USA, Canada, Qatar have something to think about. In particular, the United States of America has enough oil reserves for only 11 years, Russia for 22 years, Canada for 26, Qatar for 45.

Oil prices: expert forecasts

As of today, the price of one barrel of Brent is fixed at $64, WTI - $61.

Oil prices (like any other commodity on the world market) are determined based on the relationship between supply and demand for it. Today, supply for this energy resource still exceeds demand. In addition, pricing in this case is also influenced by other factors (let’s call them political). We are talking about military conflicts in Libya and Yemen, as well as the deployment of US shale projects.

Many economic experts predict that in the next two months oil prices will rise to $70, but after that the price of this resource will begin to fall again.

In the third quarter of 2015, as analysts predict, the price of oil may find its new bottom, reaching $50 per barrel.

Finally...

Oil is the most important energy resource of our time. The leading countries in terms of oil reserves (total) are Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Iran, Iraq, and Mexico. However, scientists warn: at the current rate of oil production, this resource in most countries of the world will only last for 40-80 years. That is why some states have already begun to think about alternative energy sources.