6.5B Energy pathways

• Energy Pathways:

  • Mismatches in fossil fuel supply and demand can be resolved by the creation of pathways that allow transfers to happen between producers and consumers
  • These mismatches have occurred largely due to differences in physical and human geography
  • Physical geography has determined the location of energy sources
  • Human geography has conditioned where those energy sources are needed
• Energy Pathways:

  • There is still a significant global trade of coal
  • Three of the largest producers of coal (the USA, China and India) also import coal e.g., some coal-burning plants in the USA still import coal from abroad as it is cheaper than buying USA produced coal
  • Australia and Indonesia export large amounts of coal to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan as well as China and India
• Energy Pathways:

  • There are significant energy pathways for oil
  • The Middle East is the number one producer of oil in the world
  • Even though the USA produces oil, it imports oil from South America, West Africa and Europe to help meet the high demands 
  • The USA is the world’s largest oil consumer using more than 19 million barrels of oil a day
  • There is only one pathway from Russia which is to Europe
• Energy Pathways:

  • The energy pathways of gas are very similar to oil
  • Gas flows either directly through pipelines or in liquid form by tanker ships
  • There is a major pathway from Russia to Europe which is experiencing disruption
  • In 2021, around 50% of Russia’s crude oil was exported to European Countries
  • Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many countries have pledged to stop or restrict oil and gas imports from Russia to hinder its war effort