The reserve list specifies different types of coal and includes countries with at least 0.1% share of the estimated world's proven reserves of coal. All data are taken from the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) via BP; all numbers are in million tonnes.[1] However BP no longer publishes coal reserves and the Energy Institute did not update the figures in 2023.[2]

A coal mine in Wyoming, United States. The country has the world's largest coal reserves.

Background

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements; chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.[3]

As a fossil fuel burned for heat, coal supplies about a quarter of the world's primary energy and two-fifths of its electricity.[4]

The largest consumer and importer of coal is China. China mines almost half the world's coal, followed by India with about a tenth. Australia accounts for about a third of world coal exports, followed by Indonesia and Russia.[5]

Coal is largely held in the Earth in areas that it needs to be mined from, and is generally present in coal seams.

Estimation of proved reserves

Unlike "resources", which is the amount that could technically be extracted, according to BP "total proved reserves of coal" is "generally taken to be those quantities that geological and engineering information indicates with reasonable certainty can be recovered in the future from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions".[1] Thus, like oil reserves, coal reserves can vary with coal and carbon prices. There are various definitions of "reserve".[6]

Unlike the internationally traded commodities hard or soft coal, lignite is not traded far from the place where it is mined because of its low value relative to transport costs, so it does not have a national price.[7] For example lignite costs within India vary greatly.[8]

List

Country Anthracite & bituminous Subbituminous & lignite Total
Tonnes
(mil) 		% Tonnes
(mil) 		% Tonnes
(mil) 		%
 United States 220,167 30% 30,052 9.4% 250,219 24%
 Russia 69,634 9.5% 90,730 28.4% 160,364 15%
 Australia 70,927 9.7% 76,508 23.9% 147,435 14%
 China 130,851 17.8% 7,968 2.5% 138,819 13%
 India 96,468 13.1% 4,895 1.5% 101,363 10%
 Indonesia 26,122 3.6% 10,878 3.4% 37,000 4%
 Germany 3 0% 36,100 11.3% 36,103 3%
 Ukraine 32,039 4.4% 2,336 0.7% 34,375 3%
 Poland 20,542 2.8% 5,937 1.9% 26,479 3%
 Kazakhstan 25,605 3.5% 0 0% 25,605 2%
 Turkey 551 0.1% 10,975 3.4% 11,526 1%
 South Africa 9,893 1.3% 0 0% 9,893 1%
 New Zealand 825 0.1% 6,750 2.1% 7,575 1%
 Serbia 402 0.1% 7,112 2.2% 7,514 1%
 Brazil 1,547 0.2% 5,049 1.6% 6,596 1%
 Canada 4,346 0.6% 2,236 0.7% 6,582 1%
 Colombia 4,881 0.7% 0 0% 4,881 0%
 Pakistan 207 0% 2,857 0.9% 3,064 0%
 Vietnam 3,116 0.4% 244 0.1% 3,360 0%
 Hungary 276 0% 2,633 0.8% 2,909 0%
 Greece 0 0% 2,876 0.9% 2,876 0%
 Czech Republic 110 0% 2,547 0.8% 2,657 0%
 Mongolia 1,170 0.2% 1,350 0.4% 2,520 0%
 Bulgaria 192 0% 2,174 0.7% 2,366 0%
 Uzbekistan 1,375 0.2% 0 0% 1,375 0%
 Mexico 1,160 0.2% 51 0% 1,211 0%
 Spain 868 0.1% 319 0.1% 1,187 0%
 Thailand 0 0% 1,063 0.3% 1,063 0%
 Venezuela 731 0.1% 0 0% 731 0%
World 734,903 100% 319,879 100% 1,054,782 100%

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "BP Statistical review of world energy 2019" (PDF). British Petroleum. 2019. p. 42. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  2. ^ Institute, Energy. "About the statistical review". Statistical review of world energy. Retrieved 2024-03-12. Coal reserves …. Please note that these reserves tables have not been updated this year.
  3. ^ Blander, M. "Calculations of the Influence of Additives on Coal Combustion Deposits" (PDF). Argonne National Laboratory. p. 315. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  4. ^ "Global energy data". International Energy Agency.
  5. ^ "Global energy data". International Energy Agency.
  6. ^ "How much coal is left – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  7. ^ "Why is there no lignite market?". Euracoal. 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  8. ^ "Lignite at Best Price in India". IndiaMART. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
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