Flows of Oil

The pattern of oil movements from producing region to consuming region is one of the dominant facts of contemporary international maritime trade. Supertankers carrying a million tons of crude oil at rates in excess of $0.10 per ton per mile make the transportation of oil not only a necessity for the world's energy-hungry countries but also an enormously profitable proposition. One of the major negatives of these massive oil flows is the damage done to the oceanic ecosystems--not just from the well-publicized and dramatic events like the wrecking of the Exxon Valdez but from the incalculable amounts of oil from leakage, scrubbings, purgings, etc. that are a part of the oil transport technology. It is clear from the map that the primary recipients of these oil flows are the world's most highly developed economies.