Day723 ①Oil isn’t just petrol for your car. It’s an ingredient in a lot of what we use, from the plastic glove that keeps your hand clean to the tires that keep you on the road. Which means the cost of these products can be affected by the fluctuating price of oil. ②OPEC stands for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. It was formed in 1960 by founding members Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The group was created to monitor the stability and prices of the petroleum market, ③Today these oil producing member countries supply over 40% of the world’s crude oil production. And together they control more than 80% of the world’s proven crude oil reserves. ④The biggest consumers of oil are the U.S. and China. It was China’s rapid development in the early 2000s coupled with a lack of growth in the production of oil which sent the price of oil shooting up. ⑤In the U.S. there’s a shale oil boom. Production levels recently hit a record high and are predicted to surpass both Saudi Arabia and Russia. But even with higher output levels, the U.S. still imports roughly 300 million barrels of oil a month. ⑥With more than 80% of the world’s proven oil reserves, OPEC in the 21st century continues to be relevant and their decisions can still affect the price of oil, if just temporarily. But as new sources of energy gradually replace hydrocarbons, the oil industry faces\Na race against time. In the words of an ex-Saudi oil minister: “The Stone Age did not end for lack of stone, and the Oil Age will end long before the world runs out of oil.”