Reliance on fossil fuels to drive economic development is still the global norm Flashcards
What are fossil fuels relied on for?
driving economic development
What is there a mismatch between with fossil fuels?
locations of conventional fuel supply (production) and location for demand (consumer)
What 2 countries are high producers of coal but low consumers?
India and Kazakhstan
What 2 countries have high consumption of coal but low production?
South Korea
Japan
What are some examples of countries that are high oil producers but not high consumers?
Saudi Arabia
Russia
Iran
Iraq
Norway
Kazakhstan
Columbia
India
What are some examples of countries that are high oil consumers but not high producers?
France
Spain
South Korea
Japan
How can physical geography cause a mismatch between locations of production and consumption?
fossil fuels were formed many millions of years ago from prehistoric plants and animals and coal, oil and gas were formed under specific conditions meaning that geographically some countries have low supply and some have high supply
Lack of resources in some countries or peak in resources (Japan, China, USA, UK)
How can human geography affect the locations that are supplier or consumers? (fossil fuels)
level of economic development (tech to access stores Nigeria or DRC)
supply outstrips demand in some countries (Saudi Arabia, Russia)
Who is the second largest producer of gas?
Russia
Why is it thought that Russia imports so much gas?
to help meet its own needs
Where does most of Russia’s gas exports go?
Europe via a network of pipelines
How many pipelines export gas from Russia?
4
What is the geopolitical significance of the Russian gas pipelines?
3 of the 4 go through Ukraine where there is high tensions especially after Russia annexed Crimea
How can Ukraine make life difficult for Russian pipelines?
threatening to hike the price it charges for allowing transfer of gas across its territory
What has increased Russian anxiety about their pipelines in Ukraine?
the possibility that Ukraine might join the EU and become a member of NATO
What 2 basic options does Russia have to deal with Ukraine and its pipelines?
Substantially reduce or stop delivery of gas across Ukraine by exporting most of the gas through northern pipeline putting Finland and Poland in same situation
Annex the Ukraine (went step further and went into conflict)
What does the the EU need to do with its dependence on Russia gas?
Wise not to increase it due to the strained political relations
What problem does the UK have with importing gas from Russia?
Majority will come from Qatar but is doubling its import form Russia to 29.1 billion cubic meters (due to decline output from north sea gas fields)
What is the positive for the UK and Russian oil?
Don’t have to rely on it as pipelines don’t extend that far
What is still the problem for Russia and its oil pipelines?
Still run through Ukraine
Who mainly uses Russian oil?
Germany and Poland
How much of the UK’s gas is from Russia?
1/3
How is Europe economically starving Russia during the war?
Not buying any oil or gas
What is the price of oil per barrel at present?
$112
Why did the price per barrel of oil increase in 1973?
Syria and Egypt invaded Israel
How did Syria and Egypt invading Israel increase the price of oil?
Israel eventually won with US support
The 2 countries who invaded were Muslim going into a Jewish country (historical tension)
Arab nations retaliated against west with an oil embargo (don’t sell- most oil comes from this region)
What led to a further increase in oil prices in 1979? (Iran)
Iranian revolution
How did the Iranian revolution increase oil prices?
Iran’s monarch was overthrown and the Shah (king) forced to flee
Islamic fundamentalist government took power
Iran’s oil production disrupted by chaos
(reduced supply with same demand- recession)
Why did oil prices increase in 1980?
Iraq attacked Iran
Why did oil prices increase in 1990?
Iraq invaded kuwait (1st gulf war)
Why did the Iraq invasion of Kuwait increase oil prices?
Oil wells in both Iraq and Juwait were destroyed in the fighting
What led to a decrease in oil prices in 1997-98?
Asian financial crisis
Why did the Asian financial crisis cause a decrease in oil prices?
Recession hit many SE asian NICs
Demand for oil falls as industry cut back
What led to led to a small dip in oil prices in 2001?
september 11th 2001 terrorist attack on world trade centre New york
Why did 9/11 lead to a decrease in oil prices?
Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked commercial passenger jet airliners
3000 people killed
Decline in air passenger numbers
Why did Hurricane katrina cause a increase in oil prices?
2005
Damage to oil refineries in New orleans USA meant they had to import in oil
What happened in 2007+ that caused a decrease in oil prices?
Financial crisis/ world recession
How did the 2007 financial crisis cause a decrease in oil prices?
Affected many of worlds largest banks
Governments borrow billions to try stop meltdown
People not as willing to spend
What happend between 2008-2011 that caused fluctuations in oil prices?
Middle east protests
Why did the middle east protests cause fluctuations in oil prices?
Wave of civil unrest and protests against supressive governments (couldnt focus on oil production)
What unconventional ways are there for energy supplies?
Tar sands
Oil shale
Shale gas
Deepwater oil
What is tar sand?
mixture of clay, sand water and bitumen (heavy, viscous oil)
How are tar sands extracted?
Mined and then injected with steam to make the tar less viscous so it can be pumped out
What is oil shale?
Oil bearing rocks that are permeable enough to allow the oil to be pumped direclty out