Editing Fossil fuel (section)

==Importance==
{{See also|Fossil fuel power station}}

[[File:2008- Oil and gas industry global net income - IEA.svg|thumb |Net income of the global oil and gas industry reached a record US$4 trillion in 2022.<ref name=IEAinvestment_202305>{{cite web |title=World Energy Investment 2023 |url=https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/8834d3af-af60-4df0-9643-72e2684f7221/WorldEnergyInvestment2023.pdf |website=IEA.org |publisher=International Energy Agency |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230807064513/https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/8834d3af-af60-4df0-9643-72e2684f7221/WorldEnergyInvestment2023.pdf |archive-date=7 August 2023 |page=61 |date=May 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
[[File:2007- Profits of energy companies (annual) - stacked bar chart.svg|thumb |After recovering from the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], energy company profits increased with greater revenues from higher fuel prices resulting from the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], falling debt levels, [[write-off|tax write-downs]] of projects shut down in Russia, and backing off from earlier plans to reduce [[greenhouse gas]] emissions.<ref name=Reuters_20230208/> Record profits sparked public calls for [[windfall tax]]es.<ref name=Reuters_20230208>{{cite news |last1=Bousso |first1=Ron |title=Big Oil doubles profits in blockbuster 2022 |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/big-oil-doubles-profits-blockbuster-2022-2023-02-08/ |work=Reuters |date=8 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331215451/https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/big-oil-doubles-profits-blockbuster-2022-2023-02-08/ |archive-date=31 March 2023 |url-status=live }} ● Details for 2020 from the more detailed diagram in {{cite news |last1=King |first1=Ben |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64583982 |title=Why are BP, Shell, and other oil giants making so much money right now? |agency=BBC |date=12 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422164652/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64583982 |archive-date=22 April 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

Fossil fuels have been important to human development because they can be readily burned in the open atmosphere to produce heat. The use of [[peat]] as a domestic fuel predates recorded history. Coal was burned in some early furnaces for the [[smelting]] of [[metal ore]], while semi-solid hydrocarbons from oil seeps were also burned in ancient times,<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-50695 |title=Encyclopædia Britannica, use of oil seeps in ancient times|access-date=9 September 2007}}</ref> they were mostly used for waterproofing and [[embalming]].<ref>{{cite web| last = Bilkadi| first = Zayn| year =1992| title = Bulls From the Sea: Ancient Oil Industries| publisher = Aramco World|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113215013/http://www.gr8dubai.com/oil2.htm|archive-date=13 November 2007|url=http://www.gr8dubai.com/oil2.htm}}</ref>

Commercial exploitation of petroleum began in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ball |first=Max W. |author2=Douglas Ball |author3=Daniel S. Turner  |title=This Fascinating Oil Business |year=1965 |publisher=Bobbs-Merrill |location=Indianapolis |isbn=978-0-672-50829-5 }}</ref>

Natural gas, once [[Gas flare|flared-off]] as an unneeded byproduct of petroleum production, is now considered a very valuable resource.<ref>{{cite conference | first = Rashad | last = Kaldany | date = 13 December 2006 | title = Global Gas Flaring Reduction: A Time for Action! | conference = Global Forum on Flaring & Gas Utilization | location = Paris | url = http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/ggfrforum06/kadany.pdf |publisher=World Bank  | access-date = 9 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070910075542/http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/ggfrforum06/kadany.pdf |archive-date= Sep 10, 2007 }}</ref> Natural gas deposits are also the main source of [[helium]].

[[Heavy crude oil]], which is much more viscous than conventional crude oil, and [[oil sands]], where [[bitumen]] is found mixed with sand and clay, began to become more important as sources of fossil fuel in the early 2000s.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.prlog.org/10026386-oil-sands-global-market-potential-2007.html |date=Aug 10, 2007 |website=PRLog |title=Oil Sands Global Market Potential 2007|access-date=9 September 2007}}</ref> Oil shale and similar materials are [[sedimentary]] rocks containing [[kerogen]], a complex mixture of high-molecular weight organic compounds, which yield [[synthetic fuel|synthetic crude oil]] when heated ([[pyrolysis|pyrolyzed]]). With additional processing, they can be employed instead of other established fossil fuels. During the 2010s and 2020s there was [[disinvestment]] from exploitation of such resources due to their high [[Carbon footprint|carbon cost]] relative to more easily-processed reserves.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Carrington |first1=Damian |date=12 December 2017 |title=Insurance giant Axa dumps investments in tar sands pipelines |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/12/insurance-giant-axa-dumps-investments-tar-sands-pipelines |access-date=24 December 2017}}</ref>

Prior to the latter half of the 18th century, [[windmill]]s and [[watermill]]s provided the energy needed for work such as milling flour, [[sawmill|sawing wood]] or pumping water, while burning wood or [[peat]] provided domestic heat. The wide-scale use of fossil fuels, coal at first and petroleum later, in [[steam engine]]s enabled the [[Industrial Revolution]]. At the same time, [[Gas lighting|gas lights]] using natural gas or [[coal gas]] were coming into wide use. The invention of the [[internal combustion engine]] and its use in [[automobile]]s and trucks greatly increased the demand for gasoline and [[Diesel fuel|diesel oil]], both made from fossil fuels. Other forms of transportation, railways and aircraft, also require fossil fuels. The other major use for fossil fuels is in [[Electrical power industry|generating electricity]] and as [[feedstock]] for the [[petrochemical industry]]. [[Tar]], a leftover of petroleum extraction, is used in the [[road construction|construction of roads]].

The energy for the [[Green Revolution]] was provided by fossil fuels in the form of [[fertilizer]]s (natural gas), [[pesticide]]s (oil), and [[hydrocarbon]]-fueled [[irrigation]].<ref>[http://www.energybulletin.net/281.html Eating Fossil Fuels]. [[EnergyBulletin]]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611071544/http://www.energybulletin.net/281.html |date=June 11, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Soaring fertilizer prices put global food security at risk |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/05/06/fertilizer-prices-food-securtiy |work=Axios |date=6 May 2022}}</ref> The development of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer has significantly supported global [[population growth]]; it has been estimated that almost half of the [[Earth's population]] are currently fed as a result of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Erisman|first1=Jan Willem|first2=Mark A.|last2=Sutton|first3=James|last3=Galloway|first4=Zbigniew|last4=Klimont|first5=Wilfried|last5=Winiwarter|title=How a century of ammonia synthesis changed the world|journal=[[Nature Geoscience]]|pages=636–639|date=October 2008|volume=1|doi=10.1038/ngeo325|url=http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/energy/Resources/Essays/ngeo325.pdf.xpdf|issue=10|bibcode=2008NatGe...1..636E|s2cid=94880859 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723223052/http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/energy/Resources/Essays/ngeo325.pdf.xpdf|archive-date=23 July 2010}}</ref> According to head of a fertilizers commodity price agency, "50% of the world's food relies on fertilisers."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Butler |first1=Sarah |last2=Ambrose |first2=Jillian |date=20 October 2021 |title=Fears global energy crisis could lead to famine in vulnerable countries |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/oct/20/global-energy-crisis-famine-production |access-date=2022-12-17}}</ref>