What Has Been the Role of Petroleum in Human Progress? (Part IV)
By Julián Salazar Velásquez -- January 27, 2023
Ed. note: Geologist and petroleum engineer Julián Salazar Velásquez, with nearly a half-century in the Mexican and Venezuelan oil industries, is a leading educator and proponent of free market energy. In addition to numerous articles, his book Gerencia Integrada de Campos de Hidrocarburos (2020) is a primer on the oil industry value chain. His four-part summary (see Part I, Part II, and Part III) ends today.
“I have two options: to remain silent in the last years of my life and witness the destruction of the world economy, as just happened in Venezuela. Or alert many to the threat to blessed living to avoid a repeat of destruction. In clear conscience, I opt for the second!”
The role that fossil fuels have played in the progress of humanity in four revolutions is undeniable:
Mechanization with steam engines powered by coal;
Massification of electricity, generated first by coal and later by falling water, oil, and natural gas
Computing
Digitization and artificial intelligence
The mineral energy story can incorporate another of the highly important indicators in the quality of life, such as agricultural and livestock development and food production. (Figures 12 and 13)
https://www.masterresource.org/mexico-energy-policy/oil-industry-salazar-4/
