Oil is the blood of our economic system. Since the first oil wells were drilled in Marietta, Ohio (US) in 1814, oil has become by far the most iimportant natural resource in the planet. It makes engines work, it heats and from it all sorts of plastic objects are manufactured. Oil is so important that some nations invade others for controlling its porduction and supply. The 20th and 21st centuries are plagued with examples of wars and invasions in which oil was the leit motiv.

According to different sources (the CIA world factbook and the OPEC), the biggest oil producer in the world is the Saudi Arabia with one fifth of the world's known reserves (260 millions of barrels) and is the largest oil exporter and producer followed by Russia.

It is necessary to say that humanity is reaching an oil peak as oil production will begin to descend progressively with no possiblity of rising as oil reserves are a finite natural resources. This means that we must begin to wrok in alternative solutions for a post-oil, less polluting and healthier society for our children.