World Energy Resources

Economics 311

Basic Energy Facts

British thermal unit (Btu) - The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit; equal to 252 calories. British thermal unit is abbreviated as Btu.

Basic Energy Facts

One BTU is not much:

•it's equal to 0.25 food calories•the amount of energy in the tip of a match•food energy in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is 1250 BTU•one kwh of electricity is equivalent to 3,412 BTU•one gallon of gasoline contains about 125,000 BTU•one short ton of coal (2000 lbs) contains about 20 million BTU.

Note: Because a single BTU is so small, energy is usually measured in thousands or millions of BTU. (mmbtu)

Basic Energy Facts

For entire economies:energy is measured in quadrillion BTU, or "quads" for short. A quadrillion is equal to 10^15. In 2002, total US energy consumption was 97.4 quads.

The metric equivalent of the BTU: is the Joule. One quad equals approximately 1.055 Exajoules (10^18 Joules).

Basic Energy FactsHow Large is a Quadrillion BTU?

It's about equal to the amount of energy in:45 million tons of coal1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas170 million barrels of crude oil

In 1988, total world energy consumption was about 1 quad every 26 hours.

How big is that pile? 45 million tons of coal would be a pile 10 feet thick, one mile wide and about 3.3 miles long. At 60 mph, it would take about 9 minutes to drive around the pile.

In terms of electricity, 1 quad is equal to 293 gigawatt-hours. 

Basic Energy Facts

How Large is a Barrel of Oil?

A barrel of oil is 42 gallons.

The standard unit is "bbl".

The extra "b" comes from the early days of the oil industry when different companies used different-sized barrels. Standard Oil's barrels were 42 gallons and were painted blue.

So bbl = Standard Oil blue barrels

Basic Energy Facts

Who uses energy?

1. Residential energy is used primarily for lighting, heating and

air conditioning. 2. Commercial energy is used primarily for lighting, heating and

air conditioning. 3. Industrial includes mines and factories, which use large

amounts of energy as inputs for producing their products.

4. Transportationrequires energy that can be carried around

easily.

U.S. Energy Consumption by Source 1635-2000

Notes: 1. Re-emergence of wood, coal

2. OPEC I (1973) and OPEC II (1979)

U.S. Energy Flow 2004

US Energy Demand Growth

Oil and Petroleum Products

Top World Oil Producers/Exporters

Top Suppliers – ‘000 barrels/day

US PADD Regions

U.S. Refinery Capacity

U.S. Imports by PADD Region

Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy

Alternative Energy Investment Shares

US Ethanol Production & Imports

Ethanol Reality Check

Ethanol

Ethanol