# Transforming Petrochemical Processes: Cutting-Edge Advances in Kaolin Catalyst Fabrication
## 7 Kaolin in Petrochemical Catalysis: From Fundamentals to Innovations
### The Current Global Oil Landscape: Production Giants, Geopolitical Tensions, and Market Volatility  
The global oil industry remains one of the most powerful sectors in the world economy. The data and information shown below have been taken from the bibliographic source Statista, which is a statistics portal for market data, research, and studies (80,000 topics from 22,500 sources in 170 industries) [138]. Annually, more than 4 billion tons of crude oil are produced (Figure 9) [139], with a significant portion--approximately one-third--originating from the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Russia. Although Middle Eastern countries continue to hold over half of the world's proven oil reserves (Table 1) [140], the United States has surpassed these nations in production volumes, largely thanks to advancements in shale oil and tar sand extraction. In 2023, the U.S. alone accounted for more than one-fifth of the daily global oil production. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline Year & Middle East & Central and South America & North America & Europe & Africa & Pacific Asia \\ \hline
1992 & 63.70 & 7.60 & 11.70 & 7.50 & 5.90 & 3.60 \\ \hline
2002 & 56.10 & 7.60 & 17.30 & 8.30 & 7.70 & 3.10 \\ \hline
2012 & 48.40 & 19.70 & 13.20 & 8.40 & 7.80 & 2.50 \\ \hline
2020 & 48.10 & 18.70 & 14.10 & 9.20 & 7.20 & 2.60 \\ \hline
2024 & 48.50 & 20.00 & 14.10 & 7.50 & 7.30 & 2.30 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Percentage distribution of global oil reserves from 1992 to 2020, by region [140]. Figure 10 represents the demand for crude oil worldwide from 2005 to 2023 (Figure 10a) and the leading oil-consuming countries worldwide in 2023 (Figure 10b). Global oil demand hovers around 102 million barrels per day in 2023 (141), but the source anticipates that economic activity and corresponding oil demand will rise by the end of the year, with projections indicating that it could exceed 104 million barrels per day. The road transport sector is the largest oil consumer worldwide, comprising nearly half of the global oil demand, primarily due to the heavy reliance on petroleum-based motor fuels. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) projects that global demand for oil products will reach 110 million barrels per day by 2045 (141), with transportation fuels like gasoline and diesel expected to remain the most consumed products. Diesel and gasoil demand are projected to increase to 30.1 million barrels per day by 2045, up from 27.6 million barrels in 2021. Gasoline demand is forecasted to reach 27.6 million barrels per day by 2045. The United States and China rank as the leading oil consumers worldwide, each using 19 million and 16.6 million barrels per day, respectively (142). The United States has seen a rapid increase in its oil usage, making it one of the leading importers despite possessing significant domestic reserves. Over the past decade, the proportion of global oil consumption from Europe and North America has begun to decline, while consumption in the Asia-Pacific region and other areas has increased. As alternative energy sources become more cost-effective and new transportation technologies gain prominence, global oil consumption is anticipated to reach its peak in the near future. The Middle East, as a region, is the world's largest oil exporter, with approximately 15 million barrels per day exported in 2022 (Figure 11) (143). Approximately one-third of global oil production originates from the Middle East. Many countries in this region are members of OPEC, which is an organization that yields considerable influence by collectively setting oil prices. OPEC was founded in Iraq in 1960 and currently comprises 13 member nations. Beyond the Middle East, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Asia-Pacific region, and Russia are the principal oil-exporting nations, each exporting in a range of 7 to 9 million barrels per day in 2022. Russia has maintained a significant and stable role in global oil exports over the past decade.