The Oil Drum

48 comments on The word is slowly spreading that we have have a problem

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marek on November 29, 2005 - 6:45am

I don't expect the British coal miner to return. British proved coal reserves are 220 million tonnes, and the R/P ratio is 9. By contrast, German proved reserves are 6,739 million tonnes (R/P 32), and Poland's reserves are 14,000 million tonnes (R/P 87). No wonder British coal production fell from 108 million tonnes in 1986 to 28 million tonnes in 2003 and 25 million tonnes in 2004. A Scottish firm is supposedly planning to develop the exhausted coal in Massif Central in France, where the last coal mine closed last year. This is how desperate they've become. Britain's declining fossil fuels production (coal, oil and natural gas) is a warning sign.

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PhilM on November 29, 2005 - 7:53am

Marek...do you have any links to these coal facts for us doomed-to-freeze in the dark Brits?

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step back on November 29, 2005 - 9:00am

Looks like JD may have some form of answer for you at his site:
http://peakoildebunked.blogspot.com/2005/11/178-countries-without-coal.html

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GJ on November 29, 2005 - 9:27am

This story from the Telegraph on Nov 27, 2005 describes the new interest in coal in the UK.

Yesterday, Andrew Davies, the economic development minister for the Welsh Assembly, claimed the idea could mean a new era for Britain's mines.
He said: "We have very limited stocks of oil and gas yet we have hundreds of years' worth of known coal reserves right on our doorstep.
"Now that the value of coal has risen it's becoming a viable option again," Mr Davies added.
"If it continues, then in five or 10 years we could have old mines reopened and new ones, too." Currently, a third of all electricity generated in the country is obtained from coal-fired power stations, which burn 50 million tons each year.
Twenty million tons are mined from eight deep mines in England and Wales plus a handful of smaller, open-cast operations. The remainder is imported.

Somebody over there thinks there's lots of coal left.

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Heading Out on November 29, 2005 - 9:46am

According to the UK Coal Authority the UK has 222 million tonnes of proven reserves, with 380 million tonnes of "further known potential" and this does not count some of the deeper coal (perhaps in Kent where it is at 3,000 ft). The UK currently uses 59 million tonnes pa, of which 30 million tonnes are British mined. There is also a fair amount of coal that is "sterilized", i.e. there are towns or other important structures above it, and so it cannot be mined. Interestingly the EIA puts the British reserve at 1.65 billion short tons. Bear in mind that the British output of home mined coal has dropped more than 80% since the early 1970's. Thus when they talk about how long the reserves last it is at today's mining rates and not the levels that were being achieved in the 1960's and early 70's when it was the primary fuel source.