CURRENT PERSPECTIVES ON FOSSIL FUEL RESOURCES Fusion Power

CURRENT PERSPECTIVES ON FOSSIL FUEL RESOURCES Fusion Power Associates 25 th Anniversary Meeting and Symposium December 13, 2004 John Sheffield Joint Institute for Energy and Environment University of Tennessee

FOSSIL FUELS INCLUDE • • Coal Lignite Peat Conventional Oil Heavy Oil, Oil Sands, and Shale Oil Gas and Natural Gas Liquids Methane Hydrates

FOSSIL FUELS ARE INTERCHANGEABLE • All fossil fuels may be both gasified and converted to liquids. • Consequently, all of the fossil resources should be included when we consider availability for a particular purpose e. g. transportation or electricity production.

RUNNING OUT OF AND INTO OIL • David Greene et al (ORNL and U. Tennessee) have analyzed global oil depletion up to 2050 for a number of scenarios. http: //wwwcta. ornl. gov/cta/Publications_2003. html • They consider both conventional and unconventional oil resources. 1 Gtoe = 7. 33 billion barrels. • ROW conventional oil production may peak in 2010 - 2030. Including OPEC around 2030 - 2050. To meet demand, the difference will be made up from unconventional oil

CONCLUSIONS OF GREENE’S PAPER • Present trends imply ROW conventional oil peak in period 2010 - 2030. • Transition to unconventional oil may be rapid: 79% growth. • First suppliers from Venezuela, Canada, Russia. • Vast quantities of shale oil (or coal, NG) may be needed before 2050 - notably in high demand case.

COAL AND NATURAL GAS • From talk by Rita Bajura (NETL) at the NRL - Energy Options for the Future meeting www. • World recoverable coal reserves 1, 083 billion tons - 210 -year supply at current use. • Coal is mainly used for electricity production - 92% in U. S. and 66% in the World. • Issues of mine safety and environmental impact.

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES FOR COAL USE • DOE’s goals: • Improved efficiency • NOx and SOx removal • Mercury removal • CO 2 sequestration. • Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) is a promising pathway to “Zero. Emission” Plants

NATURAL GAS • World proven natural gas reserves 5, 500 Tcf - 62 -year supply at current use rates (Hydrates? ). • Cleanest fossil fuel. • Rapid rate of increase in use. • Price is volatile. • In U. S. 24% for electricity, 32% in industry, and 44% other. • In World 36% electricity, 23% industry, and 41% other.

CONCLUSIONS • There is a lot of fossil fuel. Needed investment an issue. • Uncertainty in total recoverable amount - issue of unit cost. • Likely they will be major part of U. S. and Global energy mix for at least the next 50 years. • Uneven distribution and pollution are major problems. – Carbon sequestration at scale envisioned is still a young technology – Near-zero emission technologies (NOx, SOx, CO 2, Hg) will be necessary to secure long-term future for coal.