8.1 The Basic Pattern of World Energy
There is an imbalance in the world’s energy production and consumption pattern;
the coal reserve is relatively scattered from a global perspective. In 2010, the
world’s coal output was 7229 million tons, including 6182 million tons of hard coal
and 1043 million tons of brown coal; China’s coal output was 3162 million tons,
accounting for 43.7 % of the world’s total output, among which its hard coal output
made up 51.1 % of the world’s total output.
According to statistics from the International Energy Agency, in OECD
(Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) member countries in
2011, coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy accounted for 20, 36.3, 24.9 and
10.2 % of energy consumption respectively, and the total energy consumption was
about 5.3 billion tons of standard coal, up 41.7 % compared with 1973, among
which the total consumption of traditional energy was about 4.3 billion tons of
standard oil, accounting for 81 % of the total energy consumption.^1 In 2011, the
global coal output, the oil output and the natural gas output were 7.78 billon tons,
4.01 billion tons and 3.39 trillion m^3 respectively; the coal output, the oil output and
the natural gas output in OECD member countries accounted for 26.8, 21.4 and
35.6 % respectively.^2
According to data from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC), in 2011, proven global oil reserves were about 1.48 trillion barrels, up
1 %; the oil reserves in OECD member countries were 56.5 billion barrels, up
6.4 %; the oil reserves in Western Europe^3 were 12.65 billion barrels, down 2.3 %.^4
In 2011, global natural gas reserves were about 196 trillion m^3 , up 1.9 %, among
which the natural gas reserves in OECD member countries were 19.2 trillion m^3 ,up
8.7 %, and the natural gas reserves in Western Europe were 0.48 billion m^3 , down
4%.^5 Global oil and natural gas output and consumption in 2011 are outlined
below: daily oil output was about 70.44 million barrels, up 0.9 %, among which the
daily oil output in OECD was 13 million barrels; global natural gas output was 3.33
trillion m^3 , up 3.4 %, among which the output in OECD member countries was
about 1.15 trillion m^3 ; global daily oil consumption was 87.79 million barrels, up
0.9 %, among which the daily oil consumption in OECD member countries was
46.32 million barrels; the annual total imported natural gas was 1073.3 billion m^3.^6
Given the statistics from the International Energy Agency and the Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries, oil and natural gas reserves and output in
Western Europe have declined forfive consecutive years since 2007, suggesting
that the oil and natural gas reserves and output in this region have been gradually
(^1) International Energy Agency, Key World Energy Statistics, Paris, 2012, p. 7.
(^2) International Energy Agency, Key World Energy Statistics, Paris, 2012, p. 14.
(^3) The UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway, Demark, The Netherlands, etc.
(^4) OPEC, Annual Statistical Bulletin, Vienna, 2012, p. 22.
(^5) OPEC, Annual Statistical Bulletin, Vienna, 2012, p. 23.
(^6) OPEC, Annual Statistical Bulletin, Vienna, 2012, p. 33, 46, 61.
156 X. Yanping