The use of petroleum products as vehicle fuels is classified as
"transportation" use. In the
In the years since the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973/74, transportation has
become a more important component of oil demand, as price and policy encouraged
the substitution where possible of other fuels for oil. In
non-transportation or "stationary" uses -- burning oil for space heating in
buildings, such as homes, apartment buildings, stores, and schools, and burning
oil for power to run factory equipment, or to generate electricity --
substitution of other energy sources for oil was possible, some of it
immediately and some with the turnover of equipment. In
transportation uses, in contrast, there is little fuel substitution possible in
the short term and only limited potential in the longer term, given current
technology. Consumption of oil in these stationary uses --
residential, commercial, industrial and electricity generation -- fell from a
peak of 8.7 million barrels daily in 1978 (about 47 percent of total oil use) to
a low of less than 6 million barrels per day in the late 1980's and early
1990's. Consumption in these sectors has been 6.5-7.0 million barrels per
day more recently.
Thus, while oil continues to account for more than 95 percent of all
the energy used for transportation in the