Connect with us

Energy

Where is Peak Coal in China?

Published

on

Where is Peak Coal in China?

Where is Peak Coal in China?

With supply remaining abundant and demand staying weak, the debate continues on when Peak Coal will occur in China. However, as Wood Mackenzie notes in today’s infographic, it is perhaps more a question of “where” rather than “when”.

China’s a big and diverse place. The country not only has world’s largest population, but it is second biggest in land mass as well. It’s really a question of the provinces in China, and their respective trends in growth and electricity generation.

Coastal demand for coal is already peaking in China, and this is partially because it is those areas along the coast that were first opened up to free market activity via China’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs). They have already had their boom and that growth is now tapering. In the Chinese mainland however, many provinces are recording growth rates of upwards of 7% as China implements its Go West policy.

Lastly, the infographic points out the energy mix in 2030 in both coastal and inland China. On the coast, energy from nuclear and natural gas are almost equally important as coal for future energy needs. However, inland it is all coal, where over 3,000 TWh of coal capacity will be created between 2015 and 2030. This is more than all solar, biomass, nuclear, gas, wind, and hydro combined!

The country is also building an Energy Superhighway that will transmit 825TWh of coal-fired power eastwards towards the coast by 2030.

Original graphic from: Wood Mackenzie

Click for Comments

Energy

The World’s Biggest Oil Producers in 2023

Just three countries accounted for 40% of global oil production last year.

Published

on

Donut chart showing the biggest oil producers by country in 2023.

The World’s Biggest Oil Producers in 2023

This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email.

Despite efforts to decarbonize the global economy, oil still remains one of the world’s most important resources. It’s also produced by a fairly limited group of countries, which can be a source of economic and political leverage.

This graphic illustrates global crude oil production in 2023, measured in million barrels per day, sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Three Countries Account for 40% of Global Oil Production

In 2023, the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia collectively contributed 32.8 million barrels per day to global oil production.

Oil Production 2023Million barrels per day
🇺🇸 U.S.12.9
🇷🇺 Russia10.1
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia9.7
🇨🇦 Canada4.6
🇮🇶 Iraq4.3
🇨🇳 China4.2
🇮🇷 Iran3.6
🇧🇷 Brazil3.4
🇦🇪 UAE3.4
🇰🇼 Kuwait2.7
🌍 Other22.8

These three nations have consistently dominated oil production since 1971. The leading position, however, has alternated among them over the past five decades.

In contrast, the combined production of the next three largest producers—Canada, Iraq, and China—reached 13.1 million barrels per day in 2023, just surpassing the production of the United States alone.

In the near term, no country is likely to surpass the record production achieved by the U.S. in 2023, as no other producer has ever reached a daily capacity of 13.0 million barrels. Recently, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Saudi Aramco scrapped plans to increase production capacity to 13.0 million barrels per day by 2027.

In 2024, analysts forecast that the U.S. will maintain its position as the top oil producer. In fact, according to Macquarie Group, U.S. oil production is expected to achieve a record pace of about 14 million barrels per day by the end of the year.

Continue Reading

Subscribe

Popular