Reliance on fossil fuels to drive economic development (Edexcel A-Level Geography): Revision Notes

Reliance on fossil fuels to drive economic development

Mismatch Between Fossil Fuel Supply & Demand

Access and consumption of energy resources depends on physical availability, level of economic development, cost, public perception, environmental priorities and availability of technology.

There is a mismatch between the physical locations of conventional fossil fuel sources and the regions where demand for them is high. The mismatch is more pronounced for oil than gas, because gas is more widely distributed geographically (Asia is the main area of mismatch).

Oil

• Reserves mainly in the Middle East, Russia, Kazakhstan

  • USA & Canada have large tar sand deposits

• The USA accounted for the majority of OPEC output - Took over from Saudi as the world's largest oil producer

• Largest consumption per capita was N America, W Europe, Japan, Australia, Saudi & Russia Natural Gas

• Gas reserves were greatest in Iran, Russia, Qatar and Turkmenistan

• The USA was the World's leading producer

• Consumption per capita was highest in W Europe & the USA Coal

• Major reserves were in the USA, China, Russia, India, Australia & Indonesia

• Global coal production fell by 2%, w/ declines in both China & Ukraine

• China & India were also major consumers, there was a 7% decline in the EU

Energy pathways

Energy is transported by a number of pathways - shipping routes (tankers), pipelines, transmission lines, roads & rail

• Routes are subject to disruption due to:
  • Political decisions → Internal problems (Venezuela), Wars between countries, Sanctions, a country stopping supplies to another (Russia to Ukraine)
  • Piracy → 2017 - Pirates attacked 42 tankers in the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Guinea or S China Sea
  • Leaking pipelines → Flows stop during repairs
  • Terrorism
  • Choke points → Half of the world's oil is transported via tankers through 'choke points' which are vulnerable to disruption

The Key Energy Pathways

• Oil 61% of global oil consumption is traded between countries → Main movement via tankers & pipelines
• Natural Gas Pipeline shipments from Russia to W Europe are significant; shipping routes of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) are increasingly important (imports into the UK & China from Qatar)
• Coal Shopping movements from Russia, Australia & Indonesia to China & India

Unconventional Fossil Fuels

Energy resources that are not easily accessible such as

• Oil from rocks underneath deep water
• Oil & gas trapped in the pore spaces within rocks weather than in a large reservoir | Fuel | Composition & Extraction Techniques | Costs | Benefits | |---|---|---|---| | Tar Sands | ● A mixture of clay, sand and bitumen deposits
  ● Tar sands have to be mined and then injection w/ steam to make the tar less viscous so that it can be pumped out | Oil is produced by injecting steam into the tars • with severe environmental damage such as land scarring, river pollution | Provides employment to remote parts of Western Canada | | Oil Shale | ● Permeable oil-bearing rocks that allow direct pumping
  ● Either mined or shale is ignited so that the light oil fractions can be pumped out | Landscapes have become dominated by unsightly derricks | Relatively simple & cheap to pump out oil from a large number of wells | | Shale Gas | ● Deposits held in pore spaces in shale rocks • need to be fractured to allow gas to escape
  ● Fracking: Pumping in water and chemicals forces out the gas | Fracking is thought to produce minor earthquakes and contaminate groundwater supplies Large amounts of waste water produced | Gas is relatively cheap to extract
  Reduces the need to import supplies
  Developers often state they will make social investments in the community | | Deep Water Oil | ● Oil deposits located in rocks deep beneath the ocean floor
  ● Drilling takes place from ocean rigs, already underway in the Gulf of Mexico and off Brazil | High expense of developing oil fields in remote locations Threat of oil spillages | Continued supply of conventional oil; employment in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Brazil |