Oil and Gas in Everyday Life
The many ways oil and gas reach ordinary people, as fuel and as materials.
8 min
Activities: 0 of 2
A morning with no oil and gas
Imagine one ordinary morning without any product made from oil or gas. The alarm clock has a plastic case, so it is gone. The toothbrush is plastic. Many clothes contain polyester or nylon, which are made from petrochemicals. The bus to work runs on diesel. The road it drives on is covered with bitumen. Even the medicine in the cupboard may use chemicals that started as oil or gas.
This simple exercise shows why the industry is so large. It does not only supply fuel. It supplies the raw materials for thousands of everyday products.
Two big uses
Oil and gas are burned to release energy. Petrol and diesel move cars and trucks. Jet fuel moves aircraft. Natural gas heats homes, cooks food and runs power stations that make electricity. Factories use gas to make the high temperatures needed for steel, glass and cement.
Two workplace examples
Example 1: a hospital. A hospital uses gas for heating and hot water. Its back-up generators run on diesel. Gloves, syringes, drip bags and tubing are made from plastics. A hospital manager who joins an energy company is often surprised to learn how much of their old workplace depended on the industry.
Example 2: a farm. A farm uses diesel in its tractors. It spreads fertiliser, and much nitrogen fertiliser is made from ammonia, which is produced from natural gas. So the price of gas can affect the price of food.
Match the product to its use of oil or gas
Match each product on the left with the way oil or gas is used to make or run it.
- Polyester shirt
- Road surface
- Home heating
- Nitrogen fertiliser
A plastic water bottle is an example of which use of oil and gas?