---
title: "Oil Will Be Used Less for Fuel, More for Plastics and Fertilizers"
description: "## Fake Plastic Trees"
date: "2018-10-05"
modified: "2018-10-05"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/oil-production-shifting-plastics"
categories:
  - "Energy"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "Fossil Fuels"
  - "international energy agency"
  - "plastics"
  - "the digest"
---

# Oil Will Be Used Less for Fuel, More for Plastics and Fertilizers

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/demand-oil-plastics-fertilizers.png>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://pixabay.com/en/clothes-peg-laundry-budget-fix-3361351/" target="\_blank"\>analogicus\</a\>\</em\>*

## Fake Plastic Trees

Way more of the planet's oil will likely be turned into plastics and fertilizers instead of fuel, especially as renewables keep biting into the energy market.

That's according to a [new report](<https://webstore.iea.org/download/direct/2310?filename=the_future_of_petrochemicals.pdf>) by the International Energy Agency (IEA), an intergovernmental organization that conducts research on energy policy. It predicts that growing demand for plastics and other chemicals in developing economies is going to radically shift how the world uses oil. By 2030, the report projects, a third of new annual oil production will go toward chemicals instead of fuel.

## Gas Leak

As the *New York Times* [pointed out](<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/04/climate/climate-change-plastics.html>), that would be bad news for the environment. Even as renewable energy sources [reduce carbon emissions](<https://futurism.com/electricity-generated-renewables-surpassed-coal-power-europe-last-year>), the IEA projects that greenhouse gases from plastics and other chemicals made from oil will increase 30 percent by 2050.

"The combination of a growing global economy, rising population, and technological development will translate into an increasing demand for petrochemical products," the report states. It also states that petrochemicals "are rapidly becoming the largest driver of global oil consumption."

## Guzzoline

For now the oil industry is still largely driven by demand for gasoline and other fuels, but as noted in the IEA report, we're slowly but surely shifting away from fossil fuel power and toward renewables.

Still, decreasing emissions in the transportation and energy sectors while increasing the carbon footprint of plastics and other chemicals isn't exactly a win for the environment. Clearly, transitioning away from fossil fuel power won't be enough — we also need to address the other ways the Earth is dependent on oil.

**READ MORE: [There's One Word That Looms Large in Oil's Future: Plastics](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-05/oil-poised-for-fourth-weekly-gain-as-global-supply-concerns-rise>)** *\[Bloomberg*\]

***More on oil production: [Why Solar Will Bring an End to Oil](<https://futurism.com/category/climate-change-energy>)***

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)