Conventional Energy Resources

What sources of energy have filled our

requirements so far?
1. Coal
2. Petroleum
3. Natural Gas
4. Hydropower
5. Nuclear Power
1 Coal
 Nature
Formed from decayed swamp plant matter that
cannot decompose in the low-oxygen underwater
environment.
Coal was the major fuel of the early Industrial
Revolution.
High correlation between the location of coal
resources and early industrial centers:
The Midlands of Britain.
Parts of Wales.
Pennsylvania.
Silesia (Poland).
German Ruhr Valley.
Three grades of coal.
1 Coal
Carbon content (%)
0 20 40 60 80 100

Energy
Lignite Carbon

Bituminous

Anthracite

0 500 1000 1500 2000

Burned energy (1,000 calories per kg)
1 Coal
Anthracite
Highest grade; over 85% carbon.
Most efficient to burn.
Lowest sulfur content; the least polluting.
The most exploited and most rapidly depleted.
Bituminous
Medium grade coal, about 50-75% carbon content.
Higher sulfur content and is less fuel-efficient.
Most abundant coal in the USA.
Lignite
Lowest grade of coal, with about 40% carbon content.
Low energy content.
Most sulfurous and most polluting.
1 Global Coal Production, 2002 (M short tons)

World Coal Production by Type, 2000

7%
18%

Anthracite
Bituminous
Lignite

75%

760

Production
Not significant
1 Coal
 Coal use
Thermal coal (about 90% use):
Used mainly in power stations to produce high pressure
steam, which then drives turbines to generate electricity.
Also used to fire cement and lime kilns.
Until the middle of the 20th Century used in steam engines.
Metallurgical coal:
Used as a source of carbon, for converting a metal ore to
metal.
Removing the oxygen in the ore by forcing it to combine with
the carbon in the coal to form CO2.
Coking coal:
Specific type of metallurgical coal.
Used for making iron in blast furnaces.
New redevelopment of the coal industry:
In view of rising energy prices.
1 Coal
1 Coal
2 Oil/Petroleum
Nature
Formation of oil deposits:
Decay under pressure of billions of microscopic plants in
sedimentary rocks.
“Oil window”; 7,000 to 15,000 feet.
Created over the last 600 million years.
Exploration of new sources of petroleum:
Related to the geologic history of an area.
Located in sedimentary basins.
About 90% of all petroleum resources have been discovered.
Production vs. consumption:
Geographical differences.
Contributed to the political problems linked with oil supply.
2 Oil/Petroleum
Use
Transportation:
The share of transportation has increased in the total oil
consumption.
Accounts for more the 55% of the oil used.
In the US, this share is 70%.
Limited possibility at substitution.
Other uses (30%):
Lubricant.
Plastics.
Fertilizers.
Choice of an energy source:
Depend on a number of utility factors.
Favoring the usage of fossil fuels, notably petroleum.
 Petroleum Production and Consumption, 2002
(M barrels per day)

2000 20.1 57.7 5.9 16.3

Industry
Transport
Non-energy
Other sectors
1973 26.2 42.2 6.4 25.2

9,900 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Production
Consumption
Not Included
2 Oil/Petroleum
Why an oil dependency?
Favor the usage of petroleum as the main
source of energy for transport activities.
The utility factors were so convenient that a
dependency on petroleum was created.
Taxes
Should oil be taxed?
Should the development of alternative sources
of energy be accelerated or enforced?
2 Factors of Oil Dependency
Occurrence Localized large deposits (decades)

Transportability Liquid that can be easily transported. Economies of scale

Energy content High mass / energy released ratio

Reliability Continuous supply; geopolitically unstable

Storability Easily stored

Flexibility Many uses (petrochemical industry; plastics)

Safety Relatively safe; some risks (transport)

Environment Little wastes, CO2 emissions

Price Relatively low costs

2 Costs of Finding Oil (Explorasi),
1977-2000
18 70
Difference between oil costs and finding costs
16
60
Worldwide oil finding costs
Costs of finding oil ($ per barrel)

14
50
12

Difference
10 40

8 30

6
20
4
10
2

0 0
77

79

81

83

85

87

89

91

93

95

97

99
19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19
2 Oil/Petroleum
 Oil reserves
The world oil production is currently running at
capacity:
Limited opportunities to expand production.
20% of the world’s outcome comes from 14 fields.
Ghawar:
The world’s largest oil field; been on production since 1951.
Produces approximately 4.5 million barrels of oil per day.
55 to 60% of Saudi Arabia’s production.
Expected to decline sharply (use of water injection).
Could be 90% depleted.
OPEC countries may have overstated its reserves:
Production quotas are based upon estimated reserves.
The larger the reserves, the more an OPEC country can export.
In the 1980s, most OPEC reserves doubled “on paper”.
Extraction continues while reserves remain the same(?).
2 Major Crude Oil Reserves, 2003
Billions of barrels
0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Saudi Arabia

Iraq

Iran

Kuwait

United Arab Emirates

Russia

Venezuela

Nigeria

Libya

China

United States

Mexico

Algeria

Norway

Angola
2 Global Oil Reserves, 2003
70%
Reserves
60% Production
50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
North Central & S. Western Eastern Middle East Africa Asia &
America America Europe Europe & Oceania
FSU
2 Global Oil Reserves, 2003

Barrels (2003)
Less than 5 billion
5 to 25 billions

25 to 50 billions

50 to 150 billions

More than 150 billions

2 Major Oil Flows and Chokepoints, 2003

Bosphorus
3.0 Hormuz Million barrels
per day
3.8
Suez 15.3
15
0.4 3.3 Malacca
Panama Bab el-Mandab 10
11.0
3

1
2 Oil/Petroleum
 A perfect storm?
Booming oil prices after 2004.
Prior oil spikes linked with short lived geopolitical
events.
The situation has changed at the beginning of the 21st
century.
A production issue:
Petroleum extraction appears to be running at capacity.
Demand, especially new consumers (China), is going up.
A distribution issue:
Limited additional tanker and pipeline capacity.
A refining issue:
Limited additional refining capacity.
No refineries were built in the US since 1974.
3 Natural Gas
 Nature
Formation:
Thermogenic: converted organic material into natural gas
due to high pressure.
Deeper window than oil.
Biogenic: transformation by microorganisms.
Composition:
Composed primarily of methane and other light
hydrocarbons.
Mixture of 50 to 90% by volume of methane, propane and
butane.
“Dry” and “wet” (methane content); “sweet” and “sour”
(sulfur content).
Usually found in association with oil:
Formation of oil is likely to have natural gas as a by-product.
Often a layer over the petroleum.
3 Natural Gas
Reserves
Substantial reserves likely to satisfy energy
needs for the next 100 years.
High level of concentration:
45% of the world’s reserves are in Russia and Iran.
Regional concentration of gas resources is
more diverse:
As opposed to oil.
Only 36% of the reserves are in the Middle East.
3 Natural Gas
Use
Mostly used for energy generation.
Previously, it was often wasted - burned off.
It is now more frequently conserved and used.
Considered the cleanest fossil fuel to use.
The major problem is transporting natural gas,
which requires pipelines.
Gas turbine technology enables to use
natural gas to produce electricity more
cheaply than using coal.
3 Natural Gas
Liquefied natural gas (LNG)
Liquid form of natural gas; easier
to transport.
Cryogenic process (-256oF): gas
loses 610 times its volume.
Value chain:
Extraction
Liquefaction
Shipping
Storage and re-gasification
3 Global Natural Gas Reserves, 2003

40%
Reserves
35%
Production
30%

25%
Trillion Cubic Feet (2003)

20%
Less than 10 trillion
10 to 50 trillion

50 to 100 trillion
15%
100 to 200 trillion

10%
More than 200 trillion

5%

0%
North Central & S. Western Eastern Middle East Africa Asia &
America America Europe Europe & Oceania
FSU
Thank You