eq2.2 Flashcards

1
Q

Explain why energy pathways are essential in maintaining the worlds supply of energy (6 marks)

A

Energy pathways are the way in which energy is delivered to the user, such as electrical cables, oil and gas pipes or road and rail, ships, oil tankers. Some countries may have a few domestic supplies of energy such as Japan. Japan imports 4.2 million barrels of oil per da but yet is not a producer or importer. There is a mismatch between the locations of supply and the end users. Some countries such as Russia have abundant supplies and energy pathways (five pipelines) delivers energy to European countries such as Finland and Lithuania which receives 100% of its gas from Russia. However there are other countries such as Alaska have vast reserves in remote places. Africa’s level of development is a barrier to being able to exploit their own supplies.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Explain why energy pathways may be prone to disruption (8marks)

A

-Geographical ‘chokepoints’: many shipping routes of oil and gas pass through narrow straits between landmasses that are vulnerable to closure or attack, with alternate routes being more time-consuming (e.g. Strait of Hormuz involves 17 million barrels of oil per day).
- Piracy: pirates can seize ships transporting oil and gas, holding the ships ‘hostage’ or stealing the supplies, reducing the amount of energy received by source countries (e.g. there were regular reports of piracy off the coast of Somalia in the Horn of Africa prior to 2012); and may compel ships to take routes away from any potential piracy that are more time-consuming.
-Environmental disasters: oil spills at offshore drilling sites (e.g. BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010) may disrupt supplies as drilling sites become incapacitated or are switched off as a precautionary measure. International conflict: countries may switch off oil and gas pipelines that operate within their territory (‘transit countries’) in an attempt to economically-‘punish’ the source country (e.g. Ukraine has been accused of turning off Russian pipelines that run via Ukraine to Europe).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly