State of the Environment

2006

Indicator: CO-10 Total energy production from the Australian marine environment

Data

ABARE provides time series data on energy production but does not disaggregate these data according to marine and terrestrial sources.

Australian Energy Production
1973-74 PJ 1980-81 PJ 1990-91 PJ 2001-02 PJ 2002-03 PJ 2003-04 PJ
Black coal 1464 2325 4396 7282 7331 7615
Brown coal 263 312 484 669 654 658
Crude oil and condensate 858 854 1182 1336 1233 1031
Naturally occurring LPG 54 79 94 122 124 123
Natural gas 172 416 840 1388 1444 1468
Uranium - 1066 2063 3782 4399 4529
Renewables 198 207 239 257 266 265
Total 3008 5260 9298 14837 15451 15690

Source: ABARE 2005, Australian Energy Consumption and Production 1973-74 to 2001-02, viewed 23 May 2006, http://www.abareconomics.com/.

Source: ABARE 2005, Australian Energy Consumption and Production 1973-74 to 2001-02, viewed 9 May 2006, http://www.abareconomics.com/.

What the data mean

Australia’s energy production has increased substantially since 1973. Crude oil production has dropped since 2001, while natural gas production (from all sources) has continued to increase.

Data Limitations

The data do not disaggregate energy from marine and terrestrial sources.

These data are not environmentally significant in their own right but provide a baseline for tracking changes in the contribution of energy from marine sources to human life which may result from either the declining condition of the resource or from societal responses to that decline. It will be useful to track changes in the quantity of energy produced from marine sources against future declines and/or improvements in the aspects of the marine and broader environment that are vulnerable to degradation as a result of energy fuel extraction, production and use. In terms of the marine environment, key issues will be ecosystem displacement for exploration and pipelines, impacts of seismic activity on marine animals, leaks and spills of oil or other substances, and introduction of species. Broader environmental issues will be greenhouse gas emissions and other fossil fuel pollution.

Issues for which this is an indicator and why

Coasts and Oceans — Contributions of the coasts and oceans to human life - Non-living material (materials and energy fuels) 

The energy value that the ocean is currently producing is one way of tracking the contributions of ocean-based energy fuels derived from non-living sources to human life. The indicator includes both exported and domestically consumed energy, since the exported products contribute to national income.

Other indicators for this issue:

Human Settlements — Services provided by the environment to human settlements - Minerals (including non-renewable energy sources) 

A substantial proportion of the energy used in human settlements in Australia derives from coastal and marine sources, primarily gas and petroleum.

Other indicators for this issue:

Human Settlements — Pressures created by human settlements on the environment - Energy use 

A substantial proportion of the energy used, and consequential pressure on the environment, in human settlements in Australia derives from coastal and marine fossil fuel sources, primarily petroleum and gas.

Other indicators for this issue:

Key

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