I guess the questioner's point is to express whether there will be no use for chemists after the depletion of oil. If that's the case, then I can tell you with certainty that there's no need to worry, chemists will never lose their jobs.
Organic chemistry is just one part
Chemistry is categorized into four main groups: organic, inorganic, physical and analytical chemistry. The chemical industry is mainly divided into organic and inorganic chemicals. Petroleum is mainly a combination of various compounds composed of carbon and hydrogen, mainly saturated hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, non-hydrocarbons (containing oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur) and asphaltene composition, petroleum as a whole is mainly organic. And the petroleum and chemical industry related to the main part of the organic chemical industry, the inorganic chemical industry has little impact.
At present, about 14% of crude oil is used in the chemical industry, mainly as a chemical raw material, i.e. petrochemicals. Petrochemicals consist mainly of aliphatic (aliphatic refers to straight-chain organic compounds with simple structures and variable saturation), aromatic and naphthenic organic compounds, as well as carbon black and inorganic materials such as sulfur and ammonia.
Petrochemicals, are widely used in for use in a variety of everyday products such as plastics, fertilizers, packaging, clothing, digital devices, medical equipment, detergents and tires. It is now the third largest use of petroleum.
Theoretically, petrochemicals can now be obtained using other organic materials such as plant fibers and coal, provided they are in the right conditions, which means that the cost will be much higher. Because petroleum is a liquid hydrocarbon, the carbon chains in the compounds are between 1 and >70, and what we currently use in industry concentrates on carbon chain lengths below 70, which is to the economy. The energy and catalyst requirements for cracking carbon chains longer than 70 are high.
Oil is a relatively cheap chemical
Oil (including natural gas) actually provides us with a lot of low-cost chemical raw materials. The depletion of oil (which actually means the depletion of natural gas is not far away, since most natural gas is associated with petroleum) means that we lose this cheap chemical raw material, and the products we use every day, such as plastics, detergents, etc. (the petrochemicals mentioned above) will not be so cheap.
And for chemists, it may be even more important, because we need to find materials or new synthetic processes that can replace this original cheap chemical. Chemists have nothing to worry about in the face of the depletion of oil.
First, according to the latest forecast of BP in 2019, the world's total oil reserves are currently 17297 billion barrels (calculated at 7 barrels / ton), equivalent to 247.1 billion tons, which, according to the current state of exploitation and use, can be used for the world to continue to use for 50 years. △2017 countries have proven oil reserves (billion barrels) as follows:1, Saudi Arabia 2626. 2, Venezuela 2112. 3, Canada 1752. 4, Iran 1370. 5, Iran 1150. 6, Kuwait 1040. 7, UAE 978. 8, Russia 600. 9, Libya 443. 10, Nigeria 372. 11, Kazakhstan 300. 12, Qatar 254. 13, Kazakhstan 300. 12, Qatar 254. 13, United States 207. 14, China 148. 15, Brazil 129. △The rankings of the world's oil reserves by country in 2018 are:1, Venezuela 3009. 2, Saudi Arabia 2665. 3, Canada 1697. 4, Iran 1584. 5, Iraq 1015. 6, Kuwait 1015. 7, UAE 978. 8, Russia 800.9, Libya 484.10, Nigeria 371.11, the United States 365.12, Kazakhstan 300.13, China 256.14, Qatar 252.15, Brazil 127.
In summary, overall, in 2018, the total oil reserves, "instead of falling, is the world found a" new oil fields "and the vast ocean, hiding a wealth of oil and other pending Rich oil and other valuable resources to be developed.
Second, with the oil shale through the reaction of the mining technology and mining costs have fallen dramatically, has been proved that the oil shale reserves amounted to 11 ~ 13 trillion tons. Far more than the world's oil reserves combined." Science and technology are always the first productive force! Biologists, physicists, and chemists will always drive the development and progress of mankind...
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It won't be, oil exists like water, only through the products of nuclear fusion within the earth, and it will all be there unless the earth perishes. At present, the new type of an oil field reserves than in the past to the amount used now plus the amount of oil fields have been found twice, simply put, in this next 100 years do not blindly worry about, worry about is how to make more money, more to enhance their standard of living.
The oil will change when the time comes
Simply put, oil is good when it's useful, and it's even better when it's dry.
The whole world is looking for ways to change the car from the internal combustion engine to a new energy car, to the battery plus motor change, domestic travel by plane or ordinary railroad, car to high-speed rail travel.