Reliance on Fossil Fuels (Edexcel A Level Geography)

Reliance on Fossil Fuels

• The majority of countries still continue to rely on fossil fuels for most of their energy needs
• In the twentieth century, oil took over from coal as the most used fossil fuel
• Today, oil is now being challenged by gas as the number one fossil fuel

Electricity Production from Fossil Fuels (2022)

Mismatch Between Supply and Demand

• Coal
• Whilst the consumption of coal is decreasing in comparison to oil and gas, production is increasing
• China and the USA remain the two largest consumers of coal and are also the largest producers of coal
• There is a small mismatch as the main producers of coal are usually the main consumers e.g., China and the USA
• Oil
• There is a significant mismatch as the main suppliers of oil are members of OPEC and the consumers are in Europe
• Gas
• Gas supply is dominated by the USA and Russia and the major importers are Western European countries and Japan

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
• 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
• 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
• 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

Unconventional Sources of Fossil Fuel

• There are four main unconventional sources of fossil fuel which have the potential to help meet future energy demands
• Tar sands
• Oil shale
• Shale gas
• Deepwater oil

Unconventional Fossil Fuel Sources

Resource	Nature	Extraction	Example
Tar sands	Mixture of clay, sand, water and bitumen (a heavy, viscous oil)	Have to be mined and then injected with steam to reduce the viscosity of the tar so it can be pumped out	Biggest deposits are in Canada and Venezuela.  Tar sands produce about 40% of Canada’s oil output
Oil shale	Oil-bearing rocks that are permeable enough to allow oil to be pumped out	Mined or shale is ignited so that the light oil fractions can be pumped out	Little exploration has taken place
Shale gas	Natural gas that is trapped in fine-grained sedimentary rocks	Fracking - pumping in water and chemicals forces out the gas	The USA is the leading producer and exporter  In 2015, shale gas provided 25% of the USA’s gas supply
Deepwater oil	Oil and gas found offshore and at considerable oceanic depths	Drilling takes place from ocean rigs	Huge oil deposits were discovered off the coast of Brazil in 2006 and Brazil are leading the way in this

Costs and benefits of unconventional fossil fuels

• The development of unconventional fossil fuel energy resources have social costs and benefits, implications for the carbon cycle, and consequences for the resilience of fragile environments

Benefits

• These unconventional sources of fossil fuels provide countries that currently rely on imported energy with the possibility of greater energy security
• May provide a source of fuel whilst renewable energy sources are developed further 
• Provides jobs and boosts the local economy

Costs

• The exploitation of these sources will continue to threaten the carbon cycle and contribute to global warming
• Extraction is expensive and requires lots of complex technology, energy and water
• Extraction can cause environmental damage
  • Scars of opencast mines and possible ground subsidence
  • Contamination of groundwater sources and oil spills
  • Large quantities of waste are produced
  • Impacts on the local ecosystem