Energy Security Flashcards
How many proven barrels of oil are there in Alberta’s tar sands?
166 billion barrels
What is the current level of tar sands production in Canada?
2.3 billion barrels per annum
How many people are employed in Canada’s tar sands oil industry?
130,000 people
How much more carbon intensive in tar sands than conventional oil drilling?
22%
What environment has been destroyed for tar sands extraction? How much? Is this significant?
900 square kilometres of boreal ecosystem has been destroyed, but this is just 0.2% of the entire Alberta boreal forest.
How has tar sands mining impacted local wildlife?
A 2006 study found that Moose has 453 times the acceptable level of arsenic in their bloodstreams.
What is the break-even cost of tar sands production?
$80 per barrel of crude oil
How many barrels of crude oil are recoverable in the ANWR?
Between 5.7 billion and 16.6 billion according to the USGS.
Where does drilling already take place in the Arctic? What is the nature of this operation?
281,000 barrels produced per day by BP at Prudhoe Bay.
How did President Obama impact the case for drilling in the ANWR?
Obama declared additional 5 million acres of land as ‘wilderness’ in which drilling would be illegal.
What is the proposed area for new drilling in the Arctic?
The area east of Prudhoe Bay known as Area 1002.
How have local people reacted to plans for drilling in the Arctic?
Gwich’in people opposed: 7000 signed opposition position as over 70% of diet is dependent on tundra ecosystem (e.g. Caribou).
How biodiverse is the ANWR?
37 species of land mammals, eight marine mammals, 42 fish species, and more than 200 migratory bird species.
How many Caribou migrate through the ANWR each summer?
123,000 Caribou
Give an example of a leak in the ANWR associated with the oil industry?
In 1978, vandalism caused a leakage of 700,000 gallons of oil along the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline system.
Describe the issue of ‘oil field sprawl’ in the ANWR?
Over 1000 square miles of arctic tundra now covered by oil fields.
How much technically recoverable shale gas is locked in shale rock in the United States?
17.5 trillion cubic metres
How much technically recoverable tight oil is locked in shale rock in the United States?
80 billion barrels
How much shale gas does the USA produce per day?
37 billion cubic feet per day
How much shale gas is the USA expected to produce by 2040?
79 billion cubic feet per day
By 2035, what percentage of natural gas supply will be accounted for by domestic shale production?
46%
How much oil does the USA produce from hydraulic fracturing?
4.9 million barrels of crude oil per day
What is the break-even price of fracking for oil in Texas?
$48
What has the impact of fracking been on OPEC?
An increase in world supply meant a fall in prices. This meant oil revenues fell 46% from $753bn in 2014 to $400bn in 2015.
How does fracking impact water supply?
Aquifer levels in Eagle Ford dropped 300 feet due to extensive water usage by wells - 9.6 million gallons per well.
What are the health implications of fracking?
Fracturing fluids contain more than 650 known human carcinogens.
How might fracking cause water contamination?
Duke University found 60 sites where methane had contaminated groundwater in New York and Pennsylvania.
What were the implications of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico?
4.9 million barrels of oil were spilt, putting at risk over 400 species including the endangered Kemp ridley turtle.
Over 1,000km of marshland on the Louisiana coastline was oiled. 20% of fish found with lesions/sores (compared to 0.1% before).
What is the revenue of BP?
$180bn
How much oil is produced by BP?
3.3 million barrels per day
How many refineries does BP control?
13 worldwide
How many petrol stations does BP operate?
17,200 stations
What percentage of global oil production is controlled by OPEC?
40%
How did OAPEC cause the 1973 oil crisis?
OAPEC proclaimed an embargo in response to US support for Israel in the Yom Kippur war. This caused prices to quadruple from $3 to $12 per barrel.
What recent oil discovery did the USGS make?
In November 2016, the USGS found a new shale reserve with an estimated 20 billion barrels of oil and 1.6 billion barrels of natural gas in the Midland Basin of Central Texas.
Describe the EU’s ‘smart meters’ programme?
Aims to replace 80% of energy meters with smart meters by 2020. This will be achieved using 45 billion investment.
What is the ‘Green Deal Finance’ scheme and what has changed?
It provided subsidies for energy efficiency measures such has cavity wall insulation, but was recently abandoned by the Conservative government.
How much more expensive are onshore wind farms compared to natural gas plants?
4.6 times as expensive for equivalent energy output
Where is the world’s uranium located?
Stable countries such as Australia and Canada.
Australia holds 31% of world’s uranium - 1.67 million tonnes.
In the UK, how cost effective is nuclear relative to natural gas?
£93/MWh compared to £66/MWh
What were the potential human health implications following the Fukushima disaster?
70% higher risk of thyroid cancer, lifetime cancer risk increased by 1%, 130 cancer deaths expected (WHO)
How many people have been unable to return to their homes following the Fukushima disaster?
174,000 people
How much land was contaminated following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster?
100,000 square kilometres significantly contaminated
What river was contaminated by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster? Why was this significant?
The Pripyat river suffered significant contamination - important because this river supplied drinking water to 2.4 million people.
What total subsidy is the Thanet Wind Farm expected to receive from the government over its operational lifetime?
£1.2bn
What is the total capacity of the Thanet Wind Farm?
300 MW
How many homes are supplied by the Thanet Wind Farm?
240,000
What is the extent of Iraq’s reserves of oil?
140 billion barrels
How many undiscovered barrels oil does the USGS estimate lie in the arctic?
90 billion barrels
How many barrels of oil are produced daily within ISIS-controlled territory?
30,000
Describe the UK’s Climate Change Levy.
0.5 penny tax on each KWh used, raised £46bn in 2016. Funds subsidies (e.g. £60m year subsidy to Thanet wind farm).
Describe Nepal’s Micro-Hydro Village Electrification Scheme.
Serves 30,000 energy customers with total capacity of 3 MW. It saves 10 million kilograms of carbon dioxide annually, and facilitated 11% average income rise in participating villages.
How much money has the World Bank contributed to the Micro-Hydro Village Electrification scheme?
$75m
Describe how hydrogen fuel cells have been used in the USA.
Verizon Communications installed a 1.4MW phosphoric acid fuel cell for a combined Heat and Power system at its New York headquarters. It cost $11.8m, around $900,000 per fuel cell.
What is the generating capacity of the Three Gorges Dam?
22,500 MW
How many people have been displaced by the Three Gorges Dam?
1.3 million people
How has the Three Gorges dam helped to ameliorate climate change?
It saves the usage of 31 million tonnes of coal per year an around 100 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
How has the percentage of forest cover declined as a result of the Three Gorges Dam?
Forest cover down from 20% in 1950 to 10% today in surrounding area.
How biodiverse is the Yangtze?
Home to 361 different fish species, including 27% of all China’s endangered freshwater species.
How much additional water has the Three Gorges Dam supplied?
11 extra cubic kilometres to downstream farms and cities during the dry season
