Energy in Australia

Box 1: Energy flows through the Australian economy
Australia produces energy directly from natural resources, such as coal,
crude oil, natural gas and wood, referred to as primary energy. This primary
energy can be exported, or used domestically. Domestically, primary energy is
generally transformed in power plants and refineries into other types of energy
such as electricity, petrol and diesel (derived fuels), for use by Australian
industries and households. Industries and households can also use primary
energy sources such as natural gas and wood directly. Australia imports both
primary energy such as crude oil, and derived energy products such as diesel
and petrol.
Energy consumption is a net concept. To avoid double counting, derived fuels
that are produced domestically are subtracted from primary fuels, as the
energy embodied in these fuels is already accounted for in the primary fuels
that they are produced from.
Figure 1.8 shows the flow of energy through the Australian economy. To
illustrate, in 2013–14 Australia produced 2,479 petajoules of natural gas, and
imported a further 260 petajoules of gas from the Joint Petroleum Development
Area in the Timor Sea. Of this combined total, 1,265 petajoules were exported
as liquefied natural gas, 576 petajoules were transformed into other energy
types such as electricity, and 826 petajoules were used directly by industries
and households (plus a statistical discrepancy of 73 petajoules).
Primary
production
18,715 PJ
Total imports Total exports
+ 2,275 PJ
–
15,658 PJ
–
Stocks and
discrepancies
– 499 PJ
=
Primary energy
supply
5,831 PJ
–
Conversion losses
1,771 PJ
=
Final energy
consumption
4,060 PJ
10 ENERGY IN AUSTRALIA 2015