It is not just supply and demand that can cause oil prices to rise. Pumps must be powered to pull oil up from the depths and energy must be supplied to run the reactions that crack petroleum into other compounds. The time may eventually come when the total energy cost required to produce a gallon of gasoline is greater than the energy that gallon contains.
Also, a few companies already make plastics from non-petroleum sources. Cargill Dow LLC (who I work for) produces plastics from corn. Novamont's MaterBi is another material dervied, in part, from resources other than oil. Petroleum is not neccesary to produce any given type of chemical or material. It's just really convienent for the time being.
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It is not just supply and demand that can cause oil prices to rise. Pumps must be powered to pull oil up from the depths and energy must be supplied to run the reactions that crack petroleum into other compounds. The time may eventually come when the total energy cost required to produce a gallon of gasoline is greater than the energy that gallon contains.
Also, a few companies already make plastics from non-petroleum sources. Cargill Dow LLC (who I work for) produces plastics from corn. Novamont's MaterBi is another material dervied, in part, from resources other than oil. Petroleum is not neccesary to produce any given type of chemical or material. It's just really convienent for the time being.