Energy security & fossil fuels

• What is energy security

  The uninterrupted availability of energy sources at affordable prices
• Explain an energy secure country

  The country will be able to meet all or most of their energy demands from within their country
• Why is energy demand increasing

  ~ Global population growth

  ~ Development and rising standard of living

  ~ The general need for energy in everyday lives
• What is energy intensity

  A measure of how efficiently a country is using their energy
• What is energy mix, and examples of some country's energy mixes

  ~ The combination of different energy sources that are used to meet a country's total energy demand

  ~ UK: Mostly oil and gas, then renewables

  ~ Brazil: Mostly oil, then hydroelectric, then gas

  ~ Iceland: Mostly gas, then hydroelectric and oil
• What is primary energy, and some examples

  ~ Primary energy is the forms of energy found in nature that are used to generate electricity, e.g:

  ~ Non-renewable fossil fuels e.g. coal, oil and natural gas

  ~ Renewable energy e.g. wind, geothermal, hydroelectricity and solar

  ~ Recyclable fuels e.g. nuclear energy, biomass and general waste
• Different countries have different energy mixes, generally:

  ~ Developing countries: will usually use natural resources e.g. firewood for cooking

  ~ Emerging countries: a rise in oil use due to increasing transport and car ownership

  ~ As technology increases in developing countries, use of gas and nuclear power will increase
• How does energy security increase

  Energy security will increase, if the dependence on imported energy sources decreases
• What are the risks for countries that heavily depend on imported energy sources?

  ~ Artificial and abrupt changes in energy prices

  ~ Energy supplies being cut off by civil unrest or military campaigns (political issues)
• Physical Availability

  Domestic energy sources may be available, but they may not be easily accessible, and if energy sources are not available within the country, the energy will have to be imported (adding to the overall cost of energy to the consumer)
• Costs involved in access and consumption of energy

  • Cost of physical exploitation
  • Cost of processing (conversion of primary energy into secondary energy e.g electricity)
  • Cost of delivery to the consumer
• Technology


  • Modern technology is very useful in the exploitation of energy e.g., oil that requires deep drilling into the earth
  • As a result of modern technology making energy sources more accessible, increasing energy consumption usually follows
• Public Perception

  Energy costs can be perceived differently in different countries, e.g. what may be perceived as expensive in one country may seem reasonable in another, and public perception will usually depend on the level of economic development of a country and the standard of living
• Level of Economic Development

  The higher the level of development and standard of living in a country, the less sensitive they are to energy costs, and developed countries tend to have relatively high levels of energy consumption as people have more domestic appliances that make everyday living comfortable and use more forms of transport
• Climate


  Regions e.g. North America, Middle East and Australia have high levels of consumption as a result of the extra energy required to make the extremes of heat and cold more comfortable
• Environmental Priorities


  Governments may opt for more expensive methods to meet their energy needs out of concern for the environment and the need to reduce carbon emissions
• Energy use of France vs USA

  • USA (2nd) for global consumption of energy
  • France (10th) for global consumption of energy
• Differences in energy use between USA and France

  • USA has significantly larger population than France
  • USA's physically large country means extremes of heat and cold (requires huge amounts of energy for example for heating and lighting)
• Energy mixes of USA and France

  • USA - 10% renewable energy, 8% nuclear, mostly oil, then natural gas and coal
  • France - 10% renewables, 40% nuclear energy, then mainly oil
• Energy security


  • USA is considered more energy secure than France
  • USA only relies on 15% of their energy being imported
  • France has nearly 50% of its energy imported (all of their natural gas and oil are imported, as well as uranium for its nuclear power)
• What is an energy pathway


  the route taken by any energy from its source to its point of consumption
• The 5 major players in the world of energy

  • TNCs
  • Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
  • Energy companies
  • Consumers
  • Governments
• TNCs


  • Majority of these companies are involved in exploring, extracting, transporting, refining and producing petrochemicals
• OPEC


  • 13 member countries owning around 2/3 of the world's oil reserves between them
  • OPEC can control the amount of gas and oil in the global market as well as their prices
• Energy companies


  • Have strong influence over consumer prices and tariffs as they are in charge of the distribution of primary and secondary energy
• Consumers


  • The most important consumers are in transport, industry and domestic sectors
• Governments


  • Play various roles, e.g. look after energy security and can have an impact on how energy is sourced