Petroleum industry comprises companies that operate by exploration, extraction, refinement, supply and distribution of petroleum products to the wide range of industries and general public for various purposes. Petroleum is a high value non renewable energy resource. The petroleum industry is such that the fluctuations and highs and lows in the oil value keep the market at its toes, the industry's performance is one such aspect that determines whether the industry has been growing or plummeting. The oil industry is the type of industry which does not have a constant and continuous positive performance, majorly because of reasons such as trade, government and regional and demographic policies and oil prices determine the overall saleability. After a period of major highs and lows, the petroleum industry has shown a good recovery and promising positive return with oil prices increasing in many countries due to inflation and trade prices going haywire in many markets. The crude oil price has increased, so has the refiners'. Moreover, the government regulations and policies that restrict certain areas of growth and innovation and R&D.

 

Petroleum is a leading global energy commodity and feedstock for materials and chemicals production, especially when the economic significance to modern industrialized economies rivaled in few regions in natural gas. Basically, petroleum is accounted for more than 30% of the global total primary energy supply, and US is the leading nation in maximum consumption of petroleum products across its various manufacturing industries and general public. Among various countries, China comes close second after US in major petroleum consumption. And as the trading of the petroleum and crude oil continues, petroleum refineries are expected to contend with government regulations that will be designed to increase the use of renewable and environmentally friendly fuels. The main reason being the limiting of exhaustion of natural non renewable resources such as petrol and oil, and these regulations will limit revenue growth in the years to come which is expected to affect a lot of economies not majorly but to an extent that inclines towards the loss pointer. Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers expect and forecast Canadian crude oil production is expected to grow more than 6.7 million barrels per day by the end of 2030, which at current stage is at 3.2 million barrels per day in 2012/13.

 

Petroleum is a major product that is majorly and heavily used as fuel in transportation, as a source of energy for grid power generation which current innovations are used to store electrical energy is storage devices and systems, feedstock for chemical manufacturing, and feedstock for various materials, source of industry grade hydrogen gas, and most importantly as a major utility heating fuel by many people across the world. Across this world, the countries that use petroleum products in various types and forms are produced and accomplished through the process of drilling of wells that allow geological pressure to release oil up the well to the surface with water and gas injected to the reservoir to boost pressures and sustain production.

 

The energy source of petroleum has many number of important market applications, in which its substitutes most often as gasoline or fuel oil, but also heating oil, jet fuel, diesel, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), lubricants, sulfur, sulfuric acid, wax, and petroleum coke are used for varieties of purposes. M&As and joint ventures continue in the petroleum industry at a record pace. And most mergers are motivated by industry official’s desires to achieve synergies, which are benefits from the combined strengths of different companies, and to diversify their assets, where they can reduce costs, enhance stock values, and respond to price volatility in a much better and stronger strategy. Many petroleum companies plan to expand exploration activities in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico as drilling technology under difficult deep-water conditions continues to improve.

 

Major players in the petroleum industry include Royal Dutch Shell, British Petroleum, Saudi Aramco, Gazprom, National Iranian Oil Co, ExxonMobil, PetroChina, Pemex, Chevron, Kuwait Petroleum Corp, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, Sonatrach, Total, Petrobras, Iraqi Oil Ministry, Qatar Petroleum, Eni, ConocoPhillips, and Petronas.