2013
Australian
Energy
Update

July 2013

Nhu Che, Alex Feng, Caitlin McCluskey,
Pam Pham, Tom Willcock and George Stanwix


© Commonwealth of Australia 2013

This work is copyright, the copyright being owned by the Commonwealth of Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia has, however, decided that, consistent with the need for free and open re-use and adaptation, public sector information should be licensed by agencies under the Creative Commons BY standard as the default position. The material in this publication is available for use according to the Creative Commons BY licensing protocol whereby when a work is copied or redistributed, the Commonwealth of Australia (and any other nominated parties) must be credited and the source linked to by the user. It is recommended that users wishing to make copies from BREE publications contact the Chief Economist, Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE). This is especially important where a publication contains material in respect of which the copyright is held by a party other than the Commonwealth of Australia as the Creative Commons licence may not be acceptable to those copyright owners.

The Australian Government acting through BREE has exercised due care and skill in the preparation and compilation of the information and data set out in this publication. Notwithstanding, BREE, its employees and advisers disclaim all liability, including liability for negligence, for any loss, damage, injury, expense or cost incurred by any person as a result of accessing, using or relying upon any of the information or data set out in this publication to the maximum extent permitted by law.

Che, N., Feng, A., McCluskey, C., Pham, P., Willcock, T. and Stanwix, G. 2013,
2013 Australian Energy Update, BREE, Canberra, July.

Excel tables should be cited as:

BREE 2013, 2013 Australian Energy Statistics, BREE, Canberra, July.

ISSN 1839-XXXX (Print)

ISSN 978-1-921516-00-9 (Online)

Postal address:
Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics
GPO Box 1564
Canberra ACT 2601 Australia

Phone: +61 2 6276 1000
Email:
Web: www.bree.gov.au

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their appreciation for the assistance and support provided by Wayne Calder, Geoff Armitage, Bruce Wilson, Kate Martin, Martin Nguyen and colleagues from the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics, Jeremy Ainscough of the Clean Energy Regulator, David Cosgrove and David Gargett of the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics and members of the Departments of Resources, Energy and Tourism and Innovation, Industry, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Foreword

The Australian Energy Statistics is the authoritative and official source of energy data for Australia and forms the basis of Australia’s international reporting obligations. The dataset is updated annually and consists of detailed historical energy consumption, production and trade statistics compiled from various sources. The data covers the period 1973–74 to 2011–12.

The published data are intended for a wide audience, including industry, government and the broader community, and to meet international requirements for compilation of energy balances. The statistics are especially significant at a time as we seek to identify opportunities to reduce carbon emissions and improve energy productivity in the Australian economy.

The Australia Energy Update summarises and highlights the key results from the latest Australian Energy Statistics release. I encourage you to access and use the data available at www.bree.gov.au.

Bruce Wilson

A/g Executive Director
July 2013

Contents

Acknowledgements iii

Foreword iv

Abbreviations and acronyms vi

Glossary vii

Conversions/Units ix

1. Summary 1

2. Sources, methodology and coverage 2

3. Consumption 5

4. Production and trade 8

Appendix 12

Figures

Figure 1: Australian energy consumption, by fuel type 5

Figure 2: Australian energy production, by fuel type 8

Figure 3: Australian electricity generation, by fuel type 9

Figure 4: Australian energy exports, by fuel type 10

Figure A1: Total primary energy supply 12

Figure A2: Total net energy consumption 13

Tables

Table 1: NGERS reporting thresholds 2

Table 2: 2013 Australian Energy Statistics Tables 4

Table 3: Australian energy consumption, by fuel type 5

Table 4: Australian renewable energy consumption, by fuel type 6

Table 5: Australian total final energy consumption, by industry 6

Table 6: Australian energy consumption, by state 7

Table 7: Australian energy production, by fuel type 9

Table 8: Australian electricity generation, by fuel type 10

Table 9: Australian energy exports, by fuel type 11

An accessibility version of the report and associated tables are located on the BREE website: bree.gov.au

Abbreviations and acronyms

ABARES Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences

ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics

ADO Automotive diesel oil

AES Australian Energy Statistics

ANZSIC Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification

BREE Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics

CSG Coal seam gas

DCCEE Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency

FES Fuel and Electricity Survey

GWh Gigawatt hours

IDF Industrial diesel fuel

IEA International Energy Agency

FOE Fuel oil equivalent

LNG Liquefied natural gas (principally methane)

LPG Liquefied petroleum gas (principally propane and butane)

NEM National electricity market

NGERS National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme

NGL Natural gas liquids

ORF Other refinery feedstock

PJ Petajoules

PV Photovoltaic

RET Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism

SRES Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme

TFEC Total Final Energy Consumption

TPES Total Primary Energy Supply

Glossary

Bagasse: Fibrous residue of the sugar cane milling process that is used as a fuel (to raise steam) in sugar mills.

Biofuels: Liquid fuels produced by chemical conversion processes that result in the production of ethanol and biodiesel.

Biogas: Landfill (garbage tips) gas and sewage gas. Also referred to as biomass gas.

Black coal: Hard coal with high energy content. In Australia, anthracite, bituminous and sub-bituminous coals are referred to as black coal.

Brown coal: Has a low energy and high ash content. It is unsuitable for export and is used to generate electricity in power stations located at or near the mine. Also referred to as Lignite.

Coal by-product: By-products such as blast furnace gas (from iron and steel processing), coal tar and benzene/toluene/xylene (BTX) feedstock and coke oven gas (from the coke making process).

Coal seam gas: Methane held within coal deposits, bonded to coal under the pressure of water. It may also contain small amounts of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Also referred to as coal seam methane and coal bed methane. Included in Natural Gas in the AES tables.

Coke: A porous solid composed mainly of carbon and ash which is used in blast furnaces that produce iron.

Conversion: The process of transforming one form of energy into another (derived) form before final end use. Energy used in conversion is the energy content of fuels consumed as well as transformed by energy producing industries. Examples are gas and liquefied petroleum gas used in town gas manufacturing, all hydrocarbons used as feedstock in oil refineries, and all fuels (including electricity) used in power stations—therefore, energy used in conversion also includes energy lost in the production, conversion and transport of fuels (such as energy lost in coke production) plus net energy consumed by pumped storage after allowance for the energy produced.

Crude oil: Naturally occurring mixture of liquid hydrocarbons under normal temperature and pressure.

Condensate: Hydrocarbons recovered from the natural gas stream that are liquid under normal temperature and pressure.

Domestic availability: Total energy available for consumption within the economy. This measure can be compared with total primary energy supply (TPES).

Liquid fuels: All liquid hydrocarbons, including crude oil, condensate, liquefied petroleum gas and other refined petroleum products, and liquid biofuels.

Natural gas: Methane that has been processed to remove impurities to a required standard for consumer use. It may contain small amounts of ethane, propane, carbon dioxide and inert gases such as nitrogen. In Australia, natural gas comes from conventional gas and coal seam gas. Also referred to as sales gas in some sectors of the gas industry.

Natural gas liquids: Derived from the natural gas stream in separation and/or liquefaction facilities, excludes Methane.

Non-renewable resources: Resources, such as fossil fuels (crude oil, gas, coal) and uranium that are depleted by extraction.

Petajoule: The joule is the standard unit of energy in general scientific applications. One joule is the equivalent of one watt of power radiated or dissipated for one second. One petajoule, or 278 gigawatt hours, is the heat energy content of about 43 000 tonnes of black coal or 29 million litres of petrol.

Petroleum: Generic term for all hydrocarbon oils and gases, including refined petroleum products.

Petroleum products: All hydrocarbons used directly as fuel. These include liquefied petroleum gas, refined products used as fuels (aviation gasoline, automotive gasoline, power kerosene, aviation turbine fuel, lighting kerosene, heating oil, automotive diesel oil, industrial diesel fuel, fuel oil, refinery fuel and naphtha) and refined products used in nonfuel applications (solvents, lubricants, bitumen, waxes, petroleum coke for anode production and specialised feedstocks). Included in oil aggregates in the AES tables.

Primary production: The forms of energy obtained directly from nature, involving only the extraction or collection of the energy source. They include non-renewable energy sources such as coal, uranium, crude oil and condensate, naturally occurring liquefied petroleum gas, ethane and methane, and renewable energy sources such as wood, bagasse, landfill gas, hydroelectricity, wind energy, solar energy and geothermal energy. Also referred to as indigenous production.

Renewable resources: Resources that can be replenished at a rate equal or greater than the rate of depletion, such as biomass, hydro, solar, wind, ocean and geothermal.

Secondary fuels: The forms of energy that result from transforming primary fuels. They include electricity, petroleum products, LPG produced in refineries and liquid biofuels produced through the transformation of agricultural or waste feedstocks. Also referred to as derived fuels produced.

Solar energy: Generated when energy from the sun is converted into electricity or used to heat air, water and other fluids.

Total final energy consumption: The total amount of energy consumed in the final or end-use sectors. It is equal to total primary energy supply less energy consumed or lost in conversion, transmission and distribution.

Total net energy consumption: A measure of the total energy used within the economy. At an aggregate level, total net energy consumption is equivalent to total primary energy supply.

Total primary energy supply: A measure of the total energy supplied within the economy. It is equal to indigenous production plus imports minus exports, plus stock changes and statistical discrepancies. It includes the supply of both primary and secondary fuels.

Uranium: a mildly radioactive element that once mined is processed into uranium oxide (U3O8).

Conversions/Units

Metric units / Standard metric prefixes /
J / joule / k / kilo / 103 (thousand)
L / litre / M / mega / 106 (million)
t / tonne / G / giga / 109 (billion)
g / gram / T / tera / 1012
Wh / watt-hours / P / peta / 1015
b / billion (1000 million) / E / exa / 1018

Standard conversions

1 barrel = 158.987 L

1 mtoe (million tonnes of oil equivalent) = 41.868 PJ

1 kWh = 3600 kJ

1 MBTU (million British thermal units) = 1055 MJ

1 m3 (cubic metre) = 35.515 f3 (cubic feet)

1 L LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) = 0.254 m3 natural gas

Conversion factors are at a temperature of 15°C and pressure of 1 atmosphere.

Indicative energy content conversion factors

Black coal production / 30 GJ/t
Brown coal / 9.8 GJ/t
Crude oil production / 37 MJ/L
Naturally occurring LPG / 26.5 MJ/L
LNG exports / 54.4 GJ/t
Natural gas (gaseous production equivalent) / 40 MJ/kL
Biomass / 11.9 GJ/t
Hydroelectricity, wind and solar energy / 3.6 TJ/GWh

14

1. Summary

The 2013 Australian Energy Update outlines some of the major trends observed in the 2013 Australian Energy Statistics, the authoritative and official source of energy data for Australia. The 2013 Australian Energy Statistics includes historical revisions back to 2002–03 that incorporate improved information from the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme and the addition of data for 2011–12.

Key trends in the 2013 report include:

·  Total primary energy supply, the equivalent of total energy consumption, increased by 2 per cent, relative to 2010-11, to total 6 194 petajoules in 2011-12. This contrasts with a 3 per cent growth reported in the previous period.

·  This result was mainly driven by strong growth in energy use in the commercial and services sector and modest growth in the transport, mining, agricultural and residential sectors. Energy consumption in manufacturing and construction, however, decreased in 2011-12 relative to 2010-11.

·  Fuel use patterns continued to change with strong growth in the use of natural gas (4 per cent) and oil products (8 per cent) while coal consumption fell by 5 per cent in energy content terms. The fall in coal use was primarily due to a large decrease in consumption in the iron and steel making sector.

·  In 2011-12 consumption of renewable energy declined by 7 per cent, relative to 2010-11, largely due to a fall in hydro energy consumption associated with lower hydroelectricity output in southeast Australia due to reduced water in-flows. Reduced hydro energy consumption more than offset the very strong growth observed in wind and solar energy.

·  Total energy production (which includes energy exports) in 2011–12 increased by 5 per cent, relative to 2010-11, to total 17 460 petajoules, reflecting strong growth in natural gas (8 per cent), black and brown coal (5 and 6 per cent) and uranium (6 per cent) production. Production of crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas fell 6 per cent, and renewable energy decreased by 7 per cent in 2011–12 compared to 2010–11.

·  Total electricity generation increased slightly relative to 2010-11, to about 253 851 gigawatt hours in 2011–12 with the decline in hydro generation being met by increased generation from black coal and other renewable energy sources, notably biogas, bagasse, solar and wind. Total gas consumption in electricity generation was effectively stable.

·  In energy content terms, Australia’s energy exports increased by 5 per cent in 2011-12 relative to 2010-11, to 13 986 petajoules after the fall seen in the previous period due to the impact of natural disasters. This return to growth was driven largely by rebounding exports of uranium oxide and black coal which increased by 8 and 6 per cent, respectively.