National Petroleum Day is celebrated on Aug. 27 annually with an aim to raise awareness about the impact of petroleum on our lives and the environment.

This natural resource has been used in one form or the other since ancient times. Herodotus, a Greek historian, said it was one of the substances that were used to build the walls of Babylon. It was also used for lighting purposes by the ancient Persians.

Distilling petroleum began in the 1800s which resulted in the production of kerosene as well as thicker oil that was used for lubricating machinery. Today, 90% of vehicles in the world are powered by petroleum.

Currently, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States are the three major petroleum producers in the world. Significant deposits of petroleum are also found in countries like Canada and Venezuela.

On the occasion of National Petroleum Day, here are a few quotes about the natural resource. (Courtesy: Brainy Quote)

  • "A century ago, petroleum - what we call oil - was just an obscure commodity; today it is almost as vital to human existence as water." – James Buchan
  • "The approaching exhaustion of domestic reserves of petroleum and the rapid depletion of world reserves will have a profound effect on Americans in the cities and on the farms." – Richard Lamm
  • "Even as we work to develop more sources of petroleum for the United States, we must continue our vigorous pursuit of alternative fuels, so that we can be powered by cleaner, more efficient sources of energy." – Virgil Goode
  • "Subsidies on petroleum products and fertilizers should be phased out in a defined, time-bound manner. The resources that would get freed up could then be used to fund various social sector programs in education, healthcare and other priority sectors." – Baba Kalyani
  • "The use of refined petroleum as fuel, which began in the 1850s, freed hundreds of millions of people from the toil of centuries, gave hundreds of millions more a life of ease and plenty, and, by allowing great cities to feed themselves from every corner of the world, multiplied the population of the earth fivefold." – James Buchan
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Representation. Pixabay
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