IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v6y2013i11p5940-5959d30491.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Time Series EROI for Canadian Oil and Gas

Author

Listed:
  • Alexandre Poisson

    (Program in Environmental Science, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA)

  • Charles A. S. Hall

    (Program in Environmental Science, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA)

Abstract

Modern economies are dependent on fossil energy, yet as conventional resources are depleted, an increasing fraction of that energy is coming from unconventional resources such as tar sands. These resources usually require more energy for extraction and upgrading, leaving a smaller fraction available to society, and at a higher cost. Here we present a calculation of the energy return on investment (EROI) for all Canadian oil and gas (including tar sands) over the period 1990–2008, and also for tar sands alone (1994–2008). We used energy production and energy use data from Statistics Canada’s Material and Energy Flow Accounts (MEFA). We were able to quantify both direct and indirect energy use, the latter from Statistics Canada’s energy input-output model. We found that since the mid-1990s, total energy used (invested) in the Canadian oil and gas sector increased about 63%, while the energy production (return) increased only 18%, resulting in a decrease in total EROI from roughly 16:1 to 11:1. We also found (although with less certainty) that the EROI for tar sands alone has fluctuated around 4:1 since 1994, with only a slight increasing trend. Finally, we analyzed underlying factors possibly influencing these trends.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexandre Poisson & Charles A. S. Hall, 2013. "Time Series EROI for Canadian Oil and Gas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-20, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:6:y:2013:i:11:p:5940-5959:d:30491
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/6/11/5940/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/6/11/5940/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jon Freise, 2011. "The EROI of Conventional Canadian Natural Gas Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(11), pages 1-25, November.
    2. Leena Grandell & Charles A.S. Hall & Mikael Höök, 2011. "Energy Return on Investment for Norwegian Oil and Gas from 1991 to 2008," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(11), pages 1-21, October.
    3. Cleveland, Cutler J., 2005. "Net energy from the extraction of oil and gas in the United States," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 769-782.
    4. Brandt, Adam R. & Englander, Jacob & Bharadwaj, Sharad, 2013. "The energy efficiency of oil sands extraction: Energy return ratios from 1970 to 2010," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 693-702.
    5. Cleveland, Cutler J., 1992. "Energy quality and energy surplus in the extraction of fossil fuels in the U.S," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 139-162, October.
    6. Hu, Yan & Hall, Charles A.S. & Wang, Jianliang & Feng, Lianyong & Poisson, Alexandre, 2013. "Energy Return on Investment (EROI) of China's conventional fossil fuels: Historical and future trends," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 352-364.
    7. Bullard, Clark W. & Penner, Peter S. & Pilati, David A., 1978. "Net energy analysis : Handbook for combining process and input-output analysis," Resources and Energy, Elsevier, vol. 1(3), pages 267-313, November.
    8. Adam R. Brandt & Michael Dale, 2011. "A General Mathematical Framework for Calculating Systems-Scale Efficiency of Energy Extraction and Conversion: Energy Return on Investment (EROI) and Other Energy Return Ratios," Energies, MDPI, vol. 4(8), pages 1-35, August.
    9. David J. Murphy & Charles A.S. Hall & Michael Dale & Cutler Cleveland, 2011. "Order from Chaos: A Preliminary Protocol for Determining the EROI of Fuels," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(10), pages 1-20, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Arvesen, Anders & Hertwich, Edgar G., 2015. "More caution is needed when using life cycle assessment to determine energy return on investment (EROI)," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1-6.
    2. Fizaine, Florian & Court, Victor, 2015. "Renewable electricity producing technologies and metal depletion: A sensitivity analysis using the EROI," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 106-118.
    3. Huang, Chen & Gu, Baihe & Chen, Yingchao & Tan, Xianchun & Feng, Lianyong, 2019. "Energy return on energy, carbon, and water investment in oil and gas resource extraction: Methods and applications to the Daqing and Shengli oilfields," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    4. Jackson, Tim, 2019. "The Post-growth Challenge: Secular Stagnation, Inequality and the Limits to Growth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 236-246.
    5. Charles Guay-Boutet, 2023. "Estimating the Disaggregated Standard EROI of Canadian Oil Sands Extracted via Open-pit Mining, 1997–2016," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-21, March.
    6. Oludunsin Arodudu & Katharina Helming & Hubert Wiggering & Alexey Voinov, 2016. "Bioenergy from Low-Intensity Agricultural Systems: An Energy Efficiency Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-18, December.
    7. David Grassian & Daniel Olsen, 2020. "Detailed Energy Accounting of Electrical Submersible Pumping Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-24, January.
    8. Akvile Lawrence & Patrik Thollander & Mariana Andrei & Magnus Karlsson, 2019. "Specific Energy Consumption/Use (SEC) in Energy Management for Improving Energy Efficiency in Industry: Meaning, Usage and Differences," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-22, January.
    9. Louis Delannoy & Pierre-Yves Longaretti & David. J. Murphy & Emmanuel Prados, 2021. "Assessing Global Long-Term EROI of Gas: A Net-Energy Perspective on the Energy Transition," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-16, August.
    10. Oliver Loertscher & Pau S. Pujolas, 2024. "Canadian productivity growth: Stuck in the oil sands," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 57(2), pages 478-501, May.
    11. Ke Wang & Harrie Vredenburg & Jianliang Wang & Yi Xiong & Lianyong Feng, 2017. "Energy Return on Investment of Canadian Oil Sands Extraction from 2009 to 2015," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-13, May.
    12. Hall, Charles A.S. & Lambert, Jessica G. & Balogh, Stephen B., 2014. "EROI of different fuels and the implications for society," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 141-152.
    13. Bo Xu & Lianyong Feng & William X. Wei & Yan Hu & Jianliang Wang, 2014. "A Preliminary Forecast of the Production Status of China’s Daqing Oil field from the Perspective of EROI," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-21, November.
    14. David Grassian & Daniel Olsen, 2019. "Lifecycle Energy Accounting of Three Small Offshore Oil Fields," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-23, July.
    15. Lina I. Brand-Correa & Paul E. Brockway & Claire L. Copeland & Timothy J. Foxon & Anne Owen & Peter G. Taylor, 2017. "Developing an Input-Output Based Method to Estimate a National-Level Energy Return on Investment (EROI)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-21, April.
    16. Adrien Fabre, 2018. "Evolution of EROIs of Electricity Until 2050: Estimation Using the Input-Output Model THEMIS," Policy Papers 2018.09, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    17. Kong, Zhaoyang & Dong, Xiucheng & Jiang, Qingzhe, 2019. "Forecasting the development of China's coal-to-liquid industry under security, economic and environmental constraints," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 253-266.
    18. Oosterom, Jan-Pieter & Hall, Charles A.S., 2022. "Enhancing the evaluation of Energy Investments by supplementing traditional discounted cash flow with Energy Return on Investment analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fizaine, Florian & Court, Victor, 2015. "Renewable electricity producing technologies and metal depletion: A sensitivity analysis using the EROI," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 106-118.
    2. Charles Guay-Boutet, 2023. "Estimating the Disaggregated Standard EROI of Canadian Oil Sands Extracted via Open-pit Mining, 1997–2016," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-21, March.
    3. Zhaoyang Kong & Xiucheng Dong & Bo Xu & Rui Li & Qiang Yin & Cuifang Song, 2015. "EROI Analysis for Direct Coal Liquefaction without and with CCS: The Case of the Shenhua DCL Project in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-22, January.
    4. Lina I. Brand-Correa & Paul E. Brockway & Claire L. Copeland & Timothy J. Foxon & Anne Owen & Peter G. Taylor, 2017. "Developing an Input-Output Based Method to Estimate a National-Level Energy Return on Investment (EROI)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-21, April.
    5. Salehi, Mohammad & Khajehpour, Hossein & Saboohi, Yadollah, 2020. "Extended Energy Return on Investment of multiproduct energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    6. Delannoy, Louis & Longaretti, Pierre-Yves & Murphy, David J. & Prados, Emmanuel, 2021. "Peak oil and the low-carbon energy transition: A net-energy perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    7. Chen, Xuejun & Lu, Hailong & Gu, Lijuan & Shang, Shilong & Zhang, Yi & Huang, Xin & Zhang, Le, 2022. "Preliminary evaluation of the economic potential of the technologies for gas hydrate exploitation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    8. Hall, Charles A.S. & Lambert, Jessica G. & Balogh, Stephen B., 2014. "EROI of different fuels and the implications for society," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 141-152.
    9. Brandt, Adam R. & Yeskoo, Tim & Vafi, Kourosh, 2015. "Net energy analysis of Bakken crude oil production using a well-level engineering-based model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P2), pages 2191-2198.
    10. Carey W. King & John P. Maxwell & Alyssa Donovan, 2015. "Comparing World Economic and Net Energy Metrics, Part 1: Single Technology and Commodity Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-26, November.
    11. Bo Xu & Lianyong Feng & William X. Wei & Yan Hu & Jianliang Wang, 2014. "A Preliminary Forecast of the Production Status of China’s Daqing Oil field from the Perspective of EROI," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-21, November.
    12. David Grassian & Daniel Olsen, 2019. "Lifecycle Energy Accounting of Three Small Offshore Oil Fields," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-23, July.
    13. Carey W. King & John P. Maxwell & Alyssa Donovan, 2015. "Comparing World Economic and Net Energy Metrics, Part 2: Total Economy Expenditure Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-22, November.
    14. King, Carey W., 2014. "Matrix method for comparing system and individual energy return ratios when considering an energy transition," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 254-265.
    15. Xie, Minghua & Wei, Xiaonan & Chen, Chuanglian & Sun, Chuanwang, 2022. "China's natural gas production peak and energy return on investment (EROI): From the perspective of energy security," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    16. Florian Fizaine & Victor Court, 2014. "Energy transition toward renewables and metal depletion: an approach through the EROI concept," Working Papers 1407, Chaire Economie du climat.
    17. Luciano Celi & Claudio Della Volpe & Luca Pardi & Stefano Siboni, 2018. "A New Approach to Calculating the “Corporate” EROI," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 3(4), pages 1-28, December.
    18. Arvesen, Anders & Hertwich, Edgar G., 2015. "More caution is needed when using life cycle assessment to determine energy return on investment (EROI)," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1-6.
    19. Florian Fizaine & Victor Court, 2016. "The energy-economic growth relationship: a new insight from the EROI perspective," Working Papers 1601, Chaire Economie du climat.
    20. Macías, Arturo & Matilla-García, Mariano, 2015. "Net energy analysis in a Ramsey–Hotelling growth model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 562-573.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:6:y:2013:i:11:p:5940-5959:d:30491. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.