When I wrote about the fossil fuel resources/reserves last year, the BGR's report was using old information for non-conventional natural gas and oil resources. So I used the US EIA's latest estimates for natural gas and crude oil. I quoted the BGR's data only for coal resources at that time.
Now that this year's BGR report updated the natural gas and oil numbers utilizing the US EIA's new data, I am introducing here the BGR's estimates for the reserves and resources of all fossil fuels. (The US EIA's coal numbers are too old, now.)
I prepared two tables below. The first table is summarized according to unique units of each fossil fuel. The second table is according to the same thermal equivalents. In a nutshell, at the beginning of 2013, the world had approximately 73 years' supply of fossil fuels that could be exploitable with contemporary technologies.
(According to the BGR's glossaries,
Reserves = Proven volumes of energy commodities economically exploitable at today’s prices and using today’s technology;
Resources = Proven amounts of energy resources which cannot currently be exploited for technical and/or economic reasons, as well as unproven but geologically possible energy resources which may be exploitable in future)
Table 1. Reserves & Resources in Fuel-specific Units (as of January 1, 2013)
Fuel | Unit | Reserves | 2012 Production | R/P (years) | Resources | Remaining Potential |
Coal Total | Gtce | 762 | 16,195 | 16,957 | ||
Hard Coal | Gtce | 650 | 6.835 | 95 | 14,506 | 15,156 |
Lignite | Gtce | 111 | 1.106 | 100 | 1,689 | 1,800 |
Oil Total | Gtoe | 217 | 4.137 | 52 | 429 | 646 |
billion bbl | 1,592 | 30 | 3,154 | 4,745 | ||
Conventional Crude Oil | Gt | 169 | 161 | 330 | ||
Non-Conventional Oil Total | Gtoe | 48 | 268 | 316 | ||
Oil Sand | Gt | 27 | 63 | 89 | ||
Extra Heavy Oil | Gt | 21 | 61 | 82 | ||
Shale Oil | Gt | – | 47 | 47 | ||
Oil Shale | Gt | – | 97 | 97 | ||
Gas Total | Tcm | 196 | 3.389 | 58 | 837 | 1,033 |
Tcf | 6,928 | 120 | 29,558 | 36,486 | ||
Conventional Natural Gas | Tcm | 191 | 310 | 501 | ||
Non-Conventional Gas Total | Tcm | 5.5 | 527 | 533 | ||
Shale Gas | Tcm | 3.7 | 205 | 209 | ||
Tight Gas | Tcm | – | 63 | 63 | ||
Coal Bed Methane | Tcm | 1.8 | 50 | 52 | ||
Aquifer Gas | Tcm | – | 24 | 24 | ||
Gas Hydrates | Tcm | – | 184 | 184 | ||
Fossil Fuels Total | EJ | 38,826 | 534.4 | 73 | 524,378 | 563,204 |
Gtoe | 928 | 12.8 | 12,533 | 13,461 |
Table 2. Reserves & Resources in EJ/Gtoe (as of January 1, 2013)
Fuel | Unit | Reserves | 2012 Production | R/P (years) | Resources | Remaining Potential |
Coal Total | EJ | 22,320 | 232.7 | 96 | 474,655 | 496,975 |
Gtoe | 533 | 5.6 | 11,344 | 11,878 | ||
Hard Coal | EJ | 19,061 | 200.3 | 95 | 425,155 | 444,216 |
Lignite | EJ | 3,259 | 32.4 | 101 | 49,500 | 52,759 |
Oil Total | EJ | 9,052 | 172.9 | 52 | 17,923 | 26,975 |
Gtoe | 216 | 4.1 | 428 | 645 | ||
Conventional Crude Oil | EJ | 7,050 | 6,732 | 13,782 | ||
Non-Conventional Oil Total | EJ | 2,002 | 11,191 | 13,193 | ||
Oil Sand | EJ | 1,115 | 2,613 | 3,728 | ||
Extra Heavy Oil | EJ | 886 | 2,541 | 3,427 | ||
Shale Oil | EJ | – | 1,969 | 1,969 | ||
Oil Shale | EJ | – | 4,068 | 4,068 | ||
Gas Total | EJ | 7,455 | 128.8 | 58 | 31,800 | 39,255 |
Gtoe | 178 | 3.1 | 760 | 938 | ||
Conventional Natural Gas | EJ | 7,244 | 11,779 | 19,023 | ||
Non-Conventional Gas Total | EJ | 211 | 20,021 | 20,232 | ||
Shale Gas | EJ | 142 | 7,804 | 7,946 | ||
Tight Gas | EJ | – | 2,397 | 2,397 | ||
Coal Bed Methane | EJ | 69 | 1,916 | 1,985 | ||
Aquifer Gas | EJ | – | 912 | 912 | ||
Gas Hydrates | EJ | – | 6,992 | 6,992 | ||
Fossil Fuels Total | EJ | 38,826 | 534.4 | 73 | 524,378 | 563,204 |
Gtoe | 928 | 12.8 | 12,533 | 13,461 |
hard coal = bituminous coal + anthracite
R/P = Reserves-to-production ratio
Gtce = billion tonnes of coal equivalent (= 1000 million tonnes of coal equivalent (Mtce))
Gtce = billion tonnes of coal equivalent (= 1000 million tonnes of coal equivalent (Mtce))
Gtoe = billion tonnes of oil equivalent (= 1000 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe))
bbl = barrels (1 toe = 7.35 bbl)
Tcm = trillion cubic meters (1 Tcm = 35.315 Tcf)
Tcm = trillion cubic meters (1 Tcm = 35.315 Tcf)
Tcf = trillion cubic feet
EJ = exajoules, or quintillion joules (1018 J)
Conversion factors:
1 EJ = 23.9 Mtoe
1 toe = 1.428 tce = 1101 m3 (cubic meters) of natural gas
Conversion factors:
1 EJ = 23.9 Mtoe
1 toe = 1.428 tce = 1101 m3 (cubic meters) of natural gas
Source:
BGR. (2013). Energy Study 2013: Reserves, Resources and Availability of Energy Resources. Hannover, Germany: Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe. [Full-text at http://j.mp/BGR_2013]