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Geography - Resource Security > Energy > Flashcards

Energy Flashcards

1
Q

Which countries dominate coal production?

A

China 45.5%, USA = 11.6%, India, Indonesia and Australia.

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2
Q

What factor is coal extraction dependent on?

A

Level of economic development (most HICs have depleted their coal supply vs some investment needed)
Coal-based energy strategy

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3
Q

Which countries dominate oil production?

A

Over 70% of the world’s oil production in the Middle East, USA and Russia.
Middle East/Russia - conventional reserves
Increasing unconventional reserves (Tar sands- Canada,Venezuela; fracking - USA)

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4
Q

What factors is oil extraction dependent on?

A

Geology: specific conditions needed to concentrate oil into exploitable accumulations - porous/permeable rock with impermeable cap layer; high underground temperatures.
Climate: permafrost reduces accessibility and economic viability.
Accessibility: Middle east - shallow and large reserves vs deep-water reserves along Brazilian coast.
Geopolitics: unstable governments discourage TNC investment.

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5
Q

Which countries dominate natural gas production?

A

Similar to oil as formed under similar circumstances

Russia; Middle East (Qatar: Iran); USA and Canada

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6
Q

Which countries dominate nuclear energy production?

A

HICs - lack of fossil fuels and have money to invest in infrastructure e.g. Japan and France

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7
Q

Which countries dominate renewable energy production?

A

Money for investment, alongside a lack of fossil fuels (aim to promote energy security)
China (HEP); India (wind/solar); Brazil (HEP and bioethanol); EU and USA

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8
Q

Why is energy consumption increasing rapidly in NEEs?

A

Rapid industrialization - global shift and energy intensive industry
Urbanisation: urban areas (greater access to finite energy supplies - ease of distribution)
Rising incomes - high standards of living (more appliances/vehicles?
Energy producing countries are using their energy wealth to promote development > some exploited reserves are used by the home market.

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9
Q

Why is energy consumption stabilising in HICs?

A

Already have high standards of living
Increasing energy efficiency of appliances
Energy-intensive industries are in decline due to global shift
Population growth is stable
Increased awareness of environmental impacts of energy use

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10
Q

Why has consumption of natural gas increased?

A

Large discoveries in many countries
Development of long gas pipeline connections
Development of liquified natural gas plants /transport carriers
Environmental issues (gas is less polluting, emit half CO2 vs coal
Development of gas combined cycle technology for more efficient electricity generation.

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11
Q

Who are the largest consumers of Coal, oil and Gas?

A

Coal: China, USA. Russia
Oil: USA; Japan; China; India; Russia (transport)
Gas: Iran; China; Japan; Canada

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12
Q

Who are the main importers and exporters of oil?

A

Middle East; Russia and Venezuela export (often by pipeline (Russia) and tanker)
USA and China (while also large domestic producers) are the largest importers (then Japan, India).

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13
Q

Who are the main importers and exporters of gas?

A

Russia (as pipeline to Europe and Asia)

Japan, Germany and Italy are large importers of gas.

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14
Q

Who are the main importers and exporters of coal?

A

consumption mainly matches domestic supply. Export: Australia
Germany/UK/China: importers (coal-based strategy)

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15
Q

Why is oil the most traded fossil fuel?

A

Uneven distribution - necessity of trade; need to source from multiple locations to promote energy security due to unstable economy of some producers
Operations of global energy TNCs - production often separate from HICs where oil refineries are located
Was a lack of alternative to an oil based transport strategy
Ease of transportation (bulk oil carrier

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16
Q

Why are renewable energy resources not traded?

A 
Cannot store (making transport difficult)
Even distribution (countries can produce their own)
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17
Q

What percentage of global energy supply is made up by the different energy sources?

A 
Oil = 31 %
Coal = 29 %
Natural gas = 21 %
Nuclear = 6 %
Renewables = 12 %
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18
Q

Advantages of oil

A
  1. Indispensable in road transport and petrochemical industry
  2. Leading tradable commodity
  3. Flexible/easy to transport/trade
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19
Q

Disadvantages of oil

A
  1. High price volatility
  2. Geopolitical tensions in areas with the largest reserves
  3. Market dominated by leading oil producing countries & TNCs.
  4. Oil spills> sig. Environmental and human health impact.
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20
Q

Advantages of coal

A
  1. Wider geographical distribution
  2. New technologies improve environmental performance - e.g. carbon sequestration (but negative impact on energy efficiency and often limited sustainability)
  3. Stable prices (more reliable)
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21
Q

Disadvantages of coal

A
  1. High emissions of carbon particulates and other pollutants (worst fossil fuel)
  2. Dangers of production
  3. Environmental impacts of production - waste/spoil heaps etc.
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22
Q

Advantages of Natural Gas

A
  1. Cleanest of fossil fuels
  2. Flexible and efficient fuel for power and heat generation
  3. Increasing unconventional supplies (reassessment of speculative reserves and shale gas)
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23
Q

Disadvantages of Natura Gas

A
  1. Reserves increasingly offshore or remote
  2. Large investment needed for gas transport and distribution (pipelines)
  3. Increasingly long supply routes with high infrastructure cost.
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24
Q

Advantages of Nuclear

A
  1. Less atmospheric pollution (no greenhouse gases produced).
  2. Highly efficient energy production method (efficient fuels).
  3. Relatively large reserves of uranium
  4. Moderate and predictable cost of energy over the life of a power station - steady maintenance costs.
  5. Increase domestic energy security (control own supply)
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25
Q

Disadvantages of Nuclear

A
  1. Disposal of nuclear waste > expensive/ dangerous (health/terrorism)
  2. High initial investment cost (restrict use to HICs) > cost passed to consumer.
  3. Restriction in site placement - tectonic stability; water supply etc.
  4. High water use, used water is heated > damages wildlife when released into water sources.
  5. Risk of nuclear disaster: Fukushima 2011; Chernobyl, Ukraine (1986).
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26
Q

Advantages of Solar

A
  1. Renewable
  2. More reliable source of renewables (no moving parts; set hours of sunlight)
  3. Plentiful silica
  4. Can be used on a small scale in remote locations (useful LICs)
  5. Post- construction no greenhouse gases
  6. Tech advances are increasing efficiency.
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27
Q

Disadvantages of Solar

A
  1. Initial purchase/ installation expensive
  2. Can be unreliable if unsettled weather/no energy at night
  3. Difficulty storing energy (but hydrogen tech could change this).
  4. Large areas e.g. roofs/fields needed for sig. quantities.
  5. Some toxic chemicals in Pv cell production.
  6. Currently only useful in electricity production (i.e. not transport).
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28
Q

Advantages of wind

A
  1. Doesn’t produce greenhouse gases.
  2. Becoming cheaper as tech. improves > lower consumer price.
  3. Renewable
  4. Readily available in most countries across the globe > reducing dependence on imports.
  5. Can create electricity in remote areas (small scale usage possible)
29
Q

Disadvantages of wind

A
  1. Unreliable and inefficient > still need to import from other sources
  2. Damage to ecosystems > noise pollution/bird migration impacts
  3. Loss of farmland > food insecurity
  4. Eyesore > NIMBYism and impact on tourism.
  5. Offshore tech - problems for sea navigation; require transmission lines.
  6. Require sufficient wind levels > may reduce number of suitable sites.
30
Q

Advantages of Tidal

A
  1. Renewable
  2. One of the more reliable forms of renewable energy
  3. No greenhouse gases produced
31
Q

Disadvantage of Tidal

A
  1. Tidal barrages destroy habitats of estuary species.
  2. Limit river access > issues for shipping
  3. Expensive to build (e.g. Cost of proposed Severn Barrage £1.4-1.8 billion)
  4. Limited areas to build based on physical geography
32
Q

Advantages of Geothermal

A
  1. Renewable
  2. Reliable form of renewable energy
  3. No greenhouse gases produced
33
Q

Disadvantage of Geothermal

A
  1. Limited by physical geography (tectonic activity)
  2. More suited to electricity production (limited use e.g. for transportation)
  3. High initial investment costs (tends to be found in HICs)
34
Q

energy mix

A

Composition of different primary energy sources from which households and industries in a named area (usually at national level) get their energy.

35
Q

Give seven factors influence a country’s energy mix

A

Availability of energy sources > use those available first even if fossil fuels (improve trade balance and energy security)
Inertia
Government energy policy - e.g. what is prioritised environment or energy security? Commitment to international treaties?
Geopolitics: aim to diversify source of imports/reduce reliance on unstable countries
Level of development (economic and technological ability to invest vs LICs reliance on biofuels)
Physical conditions - impact use of different renewables e.g. Uk - wind; Sweden/ Norway (HEP) etc.
Level of demand/population - cost-effectiveness/ may affect ability to be selective about sources.

36
Q

Describe the energy mix in Mali

A

91% biomass; 2% other renewables (HEP); despite oil reserves in the north reliance on oil imports for the remainder of the mix (6%).

37
Q

Describe the energy consumption pattern in Mali (by industrial sector)

A

Domestic - 86%
Transport - 10%
Industry - 3%
Agriculture - 1%

38
Q

Why is Mali’s energy mix this way?

A

Little use for electricity except in urban areas - the main energy needs is for cooking and heating for which firewood is the cheapest and most readily available source.
High rural/urban disparity > greater poverty in rural areas also causes a dependence on biomass
Unable to afford investment in coal/oil reserves and renewables

39
Q

Describe the energy mix in France

A

42.4% Nuclear
28% oil
15% Natural gas

40
Q

Why is France’s energy mix this way?

A

Lack of own fossil fuel reserves
Physical conditions suitable for nuclear - low tectonic hazard; large rivers for cooling
Political focus on nuclear (following OPEC oil embargo (1970s) focus on energy security)/ dependence makes it difficult to reverse this decision despite nuclear concerns elsewhere internationally - inertia
HIC - can afford to develop nuclear

41
Q

Describe the energy mix in Iceland

A

65% Geothermal
22% HEP
11% Oil

42
Q

Why is Iceland’s energy mix this way?

A

Only use oil for transport
Physical geography: provides abundant geothermal energy (available); mountainous conditions/abundant water supply > HEP
HIC with low population can afford to develop HEP/Geothermal

43
Q

What are the components of energy demand?

A

Industrial
Commercial
Residential
Transport

44
Q

How is coal formed?

A

Sedimentary rock - peatification > coalification (heat/pressure)
Varying qualities dependent on carbon concentration and resultant energy density.

45
Q

Define lignite and anthracite

A

Lignite - 65-70% pure carbon

Anthracite - 86-98% pure carbon

46
Q

What geological conditions are needed for the formation and storage of Oil and natural gas?

A

> kerogen to oil when underground temperatures over 110C (higher = natural gas)
High pressure forces oil/gas upwards through porous/permeable rocks > layer of impermeable cap rock needed to trap it.

47
Q

What are the four different priorities countries have when trading energy?

A 
Price (vulnerable to supply and demand changes) conflict between buyer and seller (use of energy as a weapon - Russia/Ukraine)
Environmental concerns vs development of resources- consider damage done by Prudhoe Bay; Paris Agreement (who is responsible? Should LICs be able to develop)
Energy security (pressurise other countries to exploit - China in Africa) vs dependence (avoid using energy from countries with unstable governments/geopolitical disputes e.g. USA vs Iran)
Political instability - countries may avoid becoming dependent on countries with an unstable governmen
48
Q

How has energy production and consumption promoted globalisation?

A

Energy production and consumption are unevenly distributed this means that energy needs to be transferred between countries - creating links/globalisation.

49
Q

What role do TNCs play in international oil trade?

A

TNCs - control most oil and gas extraction, refining and distribution, State owned oil companies own/control access to 95% of the world’s oil and gas reserves.
Many are vertically integrated - involved in
upstream oil sector (exploration and production); midstream industry (stores, markets and transports crude oil, natural gas etc.) and downstream sector (refining oil and selling derivatives e.g.petrol).

50
Q

How does the geology affect the possibility of Hydraulic fracturing ‘fracking’?

A

Shale is impermeable but porous so natural gas/oil can be found in the pores of the rock in small amounts this can then be extracted BUT is often more expensive than conventional resources.

51
Q

What are oil/tar sands?

A

Bituminous sands (Athabasca river; alberta; Canada and Orinoco in; venezuela) oil is found as a layer of bitumen surrounding individual grains of sand. Bitumen is too thick to be pumped as a liquid from the ground so has to be mined by strip mining or open pit mining, methods such as gravity assisted drainage then separate sand and oil. Low oil recovery rate (4 tonnes of tar sands to one of oil).

52
Q

Give three examples of climatic conditions affecting solar energy efficiency

A

Hours of direct sunlight
Level of sunlight interference - cloud, fog, smog, air pollution
Air density - higher relief > thinner air > less scattering of sunlight > more efficient
Levels of rain/snow > cover PV cells/corrode cells
Wind levels > may damage/cool cells

53
Q

Give three examples of climatic conditions affecting Wind energy

A

Wind speed - most productive if wind speed over 5.5 m per second (as long as not over 50-80 where shut down)
Air density > lower relief > more efficient
Prevailing winds > reliable wind speeds/direction
Sufficient distance apart to prevent eddying or wind breaking

54
Q

What physical geography conditions are required for HEP?

A

Sufficient shape and size of drainage basin to ensure sufficient volume of water in channel
Reliable and sufficient flow of water
High relief to ensure sufficient potential energy from fall of water - Power = head (height of water) x flow x gravity
Topography - long, steep sided valley; narrow exit - more economically efficient dam construction. Geology - stable and impermeable.

55
Q

Give four environmental impacts of oil production at Prudhoe Bay

A

Fragile tundra habitats destroyed
Noise pollution from offshore drilling disturbs marine species
60 000 + nitrogen oxides released due to gas flaring
Groundwater use:
- Brought to the surface containing salt, oil etc. damaging local ecosystems
- Decrease in lake heights > too shallow so freeze through in winter > destroys habitats.

56
Q

Give three environmental impacts of oil distribution at Prudhoe Bay

A

Leaking pipelines > remote so slow discovery and repair. E.g. Leak near Prudhoe bay Feb 2001 started Dec 2000 > over 270 000 litres of oil leaked > damage to wetlands etc.
Oil spills from ships. E.g. 1989 Exxon Valdez > over 50 million litres of oil leaked over 1600 km of coastline damaging marine ecosystems.
Road transport > roads allow standing water to collect > impacts water cycle > new habitats e.g. for mosquitoes. Dust blown up from roads can settle on vegetation adding nutrients to the ecosystem and changing the species that grow there, thick dust deposits a smother small plants.

57
Q

Are energy TNCs vertically or horizontally integrated?

A

Vertically

58
Q

Where is Shell based?

A

Anglo-dutch oil & gas TNC. HQ= Hague,Netherlands.

59
Q

How is Shell vertically integrated?

A

Vertically integrated, involved in:
Upstream organisation: Exploration/production and transportation to market of oil and natural gas: (e.g. deep water oil drilling (Gulf of Mexico))
Middle/downstream organisation: Distribution/marketing; 46 000 retail stations; refineries and petrochemical production (e.g. Nanhai petrochemicals complex China)
Renewables and energy solutions organisation: power generation (and some renewables

60
Q

Statistics of Shell company

A

Operations in over 70 countries; 2019 revenue of $344.9bn; 3.7 million barrels oil per day; 83, 000 direct employees

61
Q

Where are the Athabasca oil sands?

A

Canada

62
Q

What are the environmental impacts of the Athabasca oil sands?

A

Gas emissions: carbon intensive (3x as much CO2 as conventional oil production); air pollution (CO; SO2; particulates) > impacts human health/acid rain
In-situ open pit mine > deforestation of boreal forest > 5000km2 for mining; 137 000 km2 for pipelines/access
Water abstraction/pollution > 350 m2/year from Athabasca river & increasing reliance on groundwater aquifers > falling water table/ decrease in surface freshwater supplies > decline in freshwater ecosystems productivity (threatens subsistence and commercial fishing by aboriginals such as the Cree Indians)
Liquid tailings (water, sand, clay, unrecovered bitumen and naphthenic acids) produced stored in surface ponds toxic > leaching into groundwater and Athabasca river. Tailing pond land is unlikely to recover.
Impacts of distribution: mainly pipeline to Gulf of Mexico oil refineries - e.g. Keystone pipeline

63
Q

What are the human welfare impacts of the Athabasca oil sands?

A

Creation of jobs > in-migration > expansion of temporary foreign worker programmes which exploit non-citizens/ housing shortages

64
Q

What are the benefits of the Athabasca oil sands/tar sands more generally?

A

Canada is the largest exporter of oil to the US > improves geopolitical relationships/energy security (Canada and USA)
Source of jobs and economic growth

65
Q

What are the three strategies to increase energy supply?

A

Oil and gas exploration
Development of renewables
Development of nuclear power

66
Q

As fossil fuels are depleted what two types of oil/gas supply are becoming more economically viable?

A 
Unconventional resources (hydraulic fracturing and tar sands)
Development of resource frontiers e.g. deep sea drilling, Arctic circle
67
Q

Give a positive and negative of using renewables to improve energy security.

A

Renewable - more sustainable
Decreases dependence on other nations
Lower contribution to atmospheric pollution- doesn’t produce greenhouse gases
Unreliable/intermittent
Can be expensive (HEP)
Other environmental problems e.g. Three Gorges Dam flooding 632km2 of land and displacing 1 million people (20, 000 MW of HEP)

68
Q

Often encouraged through financial support schemes, what was the UK’s Feed-In - tariff?

A

Energy suppliers pay small scale renewable producers for energy they produce.

Geography - Resource Security (3 decks)

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