Oil for Plastics Debate

Looks that way. Of course oil is used in the production of plastics and other useful materials as well.

Why can't you just make plastic from the oil?

Honest question: what about plastic and other non-fuel uses?

you do know that no one burns crude oil right? it's not an either burn it or make plastic out of it.

Oil is used for a lot more than just cars: petrochemicals are a massive industry. Everything plastic is a petroleum product. Fertilizer is a natural gas product. About 1/3 of fossil fuel electricity generation is oil (other 2/3s are coal and natural gas). There is no way to stop producing oil while maintaining living standards in the near to moderate future.The turbine blades on wind farms are composites made from petroleum products. PV arrays are encapsulated in petroleum products.

Oil is useful stuff, it is a waste to burn it. We will be able to make plastics for a lot longer if we can generate energy from something else.

Plastic products still contain most of the carbon that was originally in the oil, so I don't think it will be a problem for the climate even if we keep extracting oil and making plastic out of it. It will be just like making steel out of iron ore. We only need to stop burning that shit.

Here is something that can support OPs claim. Car's are still manufactured with oil, all the plastic, the paint, the tires that comprise the vehicle are dependent on oil. A car requires a lot more oil to produce than people understand so until focus on materials is shifted the car production alone is still a problem.

Plastics are a negligible use of oil (compared to transportation), oil can be synthesized, and I assume methane feedstock is adequate for making plastics.

It's not like we have to use all the oil in the planet this century. Saving oil for making plastics and other useful products makes sense.