Global energy resources
| Consumption | Global fossil fuel resources | ||||||
| 1860-1998 | 1998 | reserves: 1) proved and commercially exploitable resources (1) | not commercially exploitable at this time (2) | (1) + (2) | other 1) | ||
| EJ | |||||||
| Total | 13 508 | 319 | 46 655 | 235 238 | 281 893 | 975 000 | |
| Oil | conventional | 4 854 | 133 | 6 004 | 6 071 | 12 074 | |
| non-conventional | 285 | 9 | 5 108 | 15 240 | 20 348 | 45 000 | |
| Natural gas | conventional | 2 346 | 80 | 5 454 | 11 113 | 16 567 | |
| non-conventional | 33 | 4 | 9 424 | 23 814 | 33 238 | 930 000 | |
| Hard coal | 5 990 | 92 | 20 666 | 179 000 | 199 666 | . | |
| Source: WEA. | RIVM/EDC/Oct02 | ||||||
| 1) Other resources considered not to be exploitable for commercial and technical reasons. | |||||||
Developments in hard coal resources
By far the greater part of the global fossil fuel energy resources are made up of hard coal. Large quantities of hard coal resources are present in nearly all parts of the world (except the Middle East and Latin America). At current rates of consumption it is expected that even the proved and commercially exploitable reserves will be sufficient to meet present global needs for approximately 220 years.
Developments in oil and gas resources
The relative share of oil and gas in total global energy resources is smaller than coal. The conventional oil and gas resources are found mainly in the Middle East. Natural gas is also found in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Non-conventional resources such as oil from tar sand and shale oil are found mainly on the American continent. These reserves are many times higher than the conventional resources. The expectation is that the sum of conventional and non-conventional resources will be sufficient to meet demand for at least another 50 to 100 years. The extent to which these non-conventional oil stocks will be exploited will depend mainly on the world market price. The expectation is that enough cheaper resources will be available for some decades to come.
Dutch energy policy
The Dutch energy policy is geared towards sustainable energy management. Three aspects play a central role: economic efficiency, environmental quality and the reliability of the supply of energy sources. The term "reliability of the supply" refers to the level of reliability with respect to the availability of adequate energy sources now and in the future. The 2002 Energy Report (EZ, 2002) looks in more detail at the reliability of the supply in Dutch energy arrangements and the role played by the Netherlands in the European gas supply. The 'small-fields policy' therefore prioritises the production of gas from small fields over the large field in Groningen so that as much gas as possible can be extracted from Dutch fields in the long term.
