Energy isn't the only thing that a sharp rise in the price of oil will affect.
Products Made from Oil:
Ammonia
Anesthetics
Antihistamines
Antiseptics
Artificial limbs
Artificial turf
Aspirin
Awnings
Balloons
Ballpoint pens
Bandages
Beach umbrellas
Boats
Cameras
Candles
Car battery cases
Car sound insulation
Carpeting
Cassettes
Caulking
Clothesline
Cold cream
Combs
Cortisone
Crayons
Credit cards
Curtains
Deodorant
Detergents
Dice
Dishwashing liquids
Disposable diapers
Dolls
Dresses
Drinking cups
Dyes
Electric blankets
Electrician's tape
Eyeglasses
False teeth
Fan belts
Faucet washers
Fertilizers
Fishing boots
Fishing lures
Fishing rods
Floor wax
Folding doors
Food preservatives
Garden hose
Glue
Golf bags
Golf balls
Guitar strings
Hair coloring
Hair curlers
Hand lotion
Hearing aids
Heart valves
House paint
Ice buckets
Ice chests
Ice cube trays
Ink
Insect repellent
Insecticides
Life jackets
Linoleum
Lipstick
Loudspeakers
LP records
Luggage
Milk jugs
Model cars
Mops
Motorcycle helmets
Movie film
Nail polish
Oil filters
Paint brushes
Paint rollers
Pajamas
Panty hose
Parachutes
Perfume
Permanent press clothes
Petroleum jelly
Pillows
Plastic wood
Plywood adhesive
Purses
Putty
Refrigerator linings
Roller-skate wheels
Roofing
Roofing shingles
Rubber cement
Rubbing alcohol
Safety glass
Salad bowls
Shampoo
Shaving cream
Shoe polish
Shoes
Shower curtains
Shower doors
Skis
Slacks
Soap dishes
Soft contact lenses
Sports car bodies
Sun glasses
Sweaters
Synthetic rubber
Telephones
Tennis rackets
Tents
Tires
Toilet seats
Tool racks
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Toys
Transparent tape
Trash bags
TV cabinets
Umbrellas
Unbreakable dishes
Upholstery
Vaporizers
VCR tapes
Vitamin capsules
Wading pools
Water pipes
Wire insulation
Yarn
This is only a partial list. I'm sure there are other many products that are made from oil.
As the price of oil goes up, the price of these things will go up as well.
This, however, is much more complicated than it seems.
As you saw from the API site which has this data, over 19 gallons of each barrel of oil is used to make gasoline, and only about a gallon is used to make all these other products.
Keep in mind that this is an average .
Saudi Light cracks into more gasoline than Venezuelan Heavy; therefore, more energy is available, but less petrochemical products are available from each barrel.
Good grief!
If an alternative energy source were found, and a power plant for it, oil prices would drop so low that the price of these items would be moot.