Fossil Fuel Reliance Flashcards
(9 cards)
Mismatch between. fossil fuel supply and demand
There is an imbalance between where fossil fuels are produced and where they are needed. For example, in 2019, Japan was the 5th largest consumer of coal (163 million tonnes), the 4th largest consumer of oil (174 million tonnes), and the 7th largest consumer of gas (108 billion cubic metres). Despite this, Japan does not fall into the top 10 countries for producing any of the 3 major fossil fuels. This means that Japan relies heavily on imported fossil fuels to meet its energy demands - this makes it less energy secure, as other countries can control who they export oil to and can influence the price.
Globally, China dominates coal production (3846 million tonnes in 2019, compared to India in second, which produced 757 million tonnes).
USA (747 million tonnes), Russia (568 million tonnes) and Saudi Arabia (557 million tonnes) dominate oil production.
USA (921 billion cubic metres) dominates gas production
China consumed 307 billion cubic feet of gas in 2019 despite producing only 178 billion cubic feet. This means it relies on gas imports.
Germany and South Korea are in the top 10 consumers of both coal and oil, despite not being in the top 10 producers for any fossil fuel. South Korea and Japan are resource-poor and lack domestic petroleum and mining industries.
Energy pathways
Fossil fuels are transported between countries via energy pathways. These include road and rail links, oil and gas pipelines and shipping routes through chokepoints. Such pathways are prone to disruption due to geopolitical relations between countries and depleting sources
Russian gas supplies to Europe
New Years day 2025, saw the end of a 5 year gas transit deal which allowed Russian gas to be transported to European countries through Ukraine. Russia was once Europe’s largest supplier of gas, however since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many of its European customers have looked to supply gas from elsewhere - notably the US, Norway and Qatar.
The end of this agreement could result in Ukraine losing up to $800 million per year in transit fees from Russia. However, it will cause a loss of $5 billion in Gazprom sales to Europe.
The collapse in Russia’s gas sales led Gazprom to an annual loss of $7 billion in 2023.
Countries like the USA, Norway and Qatar can charge higher fees for their gas supplies to Europe and thus will likely benefit greatly from the closure of Ukraine’s pipelines.
Trade choke points
Choke points are checkpoints between shipping routes which have high volumes of traffic. The high value of container ships which pass through these chokepoints makes piracy prevalent. Combined with geopolitical tensions and high volumes of traffic, supply of valuable resources including fossil fuels such as liquified natural gas can become disrupted. This may result in shortages in other countries - causing the prices of goods (or energy) to rise. This could lead to social problems like hunger or increased living costs as well as economic problems such as reduced industrial activity. Disruption at chokepoints can therefore be a source of conflict.
In march 2021, The Ever Given ( a large container ship carrying 18,300 containers) blocked the Suez Canal or 6 days. this delayed an estimated $9.6 billion in trade.
In the Malacca and Singapore Straits, there were 41 reported incidents of piracy in 2023
On April 13th 2024, Iran’s Revolution Guard boarded and took control of the MSC Aries (a Portuguese container ship carrying petrochemicals, steel and plastic polymers). On May 3rd they released the crew but retained control over the vessel.
Alberta tar sands - unconventional fossil fuel
Canada has the world’s largest deposits of tar sands - containing 3 main deposits in Alberta. It is estimated that Alberta’s tar sands contains 1.8 trillion barrels of oil reserves. however, less than 10% of this (159 billion barrels) is proven ( can be exploited with today’s technology). Such Tar sands have allowed Canada to have the 3rd largest proven reserves of oil in the world. Alberta alone has more oil the entirety of Iraq.
Benefits of exploiting Alberta’s Tar Sands:
* Provides an alternative source of oil
* Could meet 16% of North America’s energy needs by 2030
* Offers energy security to Canada and the USA - 28% of exported oil is used in Canada whilst 70% is exported to the US.
- Can severe as a fuel stopgap until more renewable and cleaner energy sources become more readily available and viable
- Earns vital revenue for local economies
- Environmental protection is i n place - ensuring mining companies reclaim land disturbed by extraction
Costs of exploiting Alberta’s tar sands:
* Only viable if crude oil prices exceed $40 per barrel, as it costs $10-$20 per barrel to extract bitumen from tar sands compared to $2 for conventional oil (2015 figures)
* Energy intensive - the equivalent of 1 barrel of conventional oil is needed to extract 5 barrels of oil from tar sands.
* 2-5 barrels of water are need to extract 1 barrel of oil
* 1.8 million tonnes of toxic wastewater produced per day. Lakes as far as 90km away have 2.5-23x higher levels of PAH and 3/7-56 times higher levels of DBT.
* 2 tonnes of mined tar to produce 1 tonne of oil - lots of waste.
* 470km² of Alberta’s taiga forests have been cleared. This has contributed to Caribou populations declining as they are easier prey for wolves. They are expected to be extinct by 2040.
As of 2022, 3.3 million barrels were extracted per day.
Fracking for shale oil and shale gas in the US - unconventional fossil fuel
2011 estimates suggest that the US contains almost 900 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable shale gas reserves and almost 300 trillion cubic feet of proven shale gas reserves. Shale gas accounted for 1% of gas production prior to 2011. This increased to 23% in 2012. the US aims to reach 50% by 2035.
Between 2004 and 2013, shale oil production in the US increased from 111,000 barrels per day to 1.3 million barrels per day.
Benefits of fracking in the US
- Increased energy security - making the US more resistant to volatile oil prices
- Favourable geology of the US makes extraction of shale oil and gas 15% cheaper than in other countries
- Emits 50% less greenhouse gases by volume than coal (this may make mean it van be used to bridge the gap between energy supply and demand until new nuclear power and renewable energy is developed)
- In 2010, it employed 600,000 workers in the USA and contributed $118 bn to the US economy in 2015. In North Dakota, the shortage of labour means wages are high attracting inward migration and investment - leading to a positive multiplier effect. Additionally in North Dakota, 2000 farmers who sold their land containing shale oil became millionaires overnight. North Dakota contains 180-190 drilling rigs, which each employ 125 full time jobs.
Costs of fracking in the US
- Can cause tremors up to magnitude 3.4 on Richter scale
- Energy and water intensive - producing vast volumes of waste that needs to be disposed of.
- 20-30% of toxic chemicals used remain underground where they can contaminate groundwater with carcinogens. methane released may also make tap water flammable
- Air pollutants as some shale gas escapes as well mas due to carbon dioxide emissions from the 1000m lorries visits needed to build and supply shale wells.
- Immigration in shale mining communities puts heavy strain on services and causes traffic congestion increasing air pollution. In North Dakota there is now a housing shortage as well as high levels of drug trafficking and prostitution.
- Expansion of fracking industry may result in slower development of renewables.
Is the US’s shaleindustry declining?
At its peak, North Dakota produced 1.54 million barrels of shale oil per day. This has since decreased to 1.3 million as many of the largest and most profitable wells have been depleted. This means that despite advancements in technology, allowing more shale oil and gas to be exploited from each well, oil companies like Chevron have looked into exploiting other areas, such as the coast of Guyana which is believed to contain 7 billion barrels of oil.
