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ENERGY BASICS: fossil fuels

State of Play:

Fossil fuels — coal, oil and natural gas, primarily — remain the dominant energy sources for much of the world, with their accompanying infrastructure of mines, drilling and production wells, pipelines and various forms of transportation. But they have become more problematic as governments struggle to address climate change and pivot to energy sources that do not result in carbon dioxide emissions.

U.S. energy overview

The United States, for decades an importer of energy, has been steadily closing the gap in recent years, and may do so completely in the 2020s.

The United States consumed 97.7 quadrillion Btu of energy in 2017, roughly one-sixth of the world’s total. The country produced 87.5 quadrillion Btu of energy in 2017. The gap, 10.2 quads, was filled by energy imports — primarily crude oil.

On what sources of energy does the United States depend?

The country produced 87.5 quadrillion Btu of energy in 2017. Here’s where it came from:

  • petroleum (38.1 percent).
  • natural gas (29 percent).
  • coal (15 percent).
  • renewables (10 percent).
  • nuclear (9 percent).

The country’s energy mix, of course, is a bit more complicated. Oil provides almost all of the energy for transportation (92 percent) but almost none of the country’s electricity. In contrast, nuclear power is produced exclusively for electricity.

ENERGY BASICS: petroleum

ENERGY BASICS: natural gas

ENERGY BASICS: coal

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