A National Accounting Framework for the Petroleum Cycle: A Case Study of China

doi:10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2016.05.009

Abstract

Abstract:

In a world of climate change and socio-economic development, oil is the strategic resource that is closely intertwined and interdependent. Tracing the evolution of petroleum resources flow is fundamental to understanding petroleum supply and demand, and can also serve as the basis for assessing CO₂ emissions from petroleum products. This paper aims to provide a petroleum products flow accounting framework that divides petroleum flow into four phases, three flows, three libraries, and two processes, and summarizes the approach to measure and analyze petroleum resources flows. It takes China as an example for empirical research, and finds that: ① China’s petroleum production, consumption and import have significantly increased over the past two decades, and the combination of increasing demand and limited supply have created an urgent need for China to diversify its petroleum sources globally to ensure its oil security. ② Final consumption accounts for the use of most petroleum products and special attention should be paid to the losses in the petroleum refining process. ③ With the exception of crude oil, petroleum product flows among various sectors has changed greatly. Particularly, the flow of petroleum products into transport and residential consumption has trended upward significantly, whereas the flow to industry is trending downward. ④ CO₂ emission data shows that CO₂ emission amounts increased rapidly from 456Mt in 1993 to 1517Mt in 2013. Previously, the top three CO₂ emitters were the industrial sector, the transport sector including the transport, storage and post segments, and the thermal power sector. Currently, the largest emitters are the transport sector, the industrial sector and the residential consumption sector. Finally, poorly demarcated system boundaries and incomplete databases and models constrain research on industry flows of petroleum resources for non-energy use.

Key words: China, flow framework, petroleum cycle

LIU Xiaojie, LIU Litao, CHENG Shengkui, SHEN Lei, LU Chunxia. A National Accounting Framework for the Petroleum Cycle: A Case Study of China[J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2016, 7(5): 386-396.

References

1 APERC. 2007. A quest for energy security in the 21st century. Institute of Energy Economics, Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre, Tokyo.
2 Barabási A L, Albert R. 1999. Emergence of scaling in random networks. Science , 286(5439): 509-512.
3 BP. 2015. BP statistical review of world energy, British Petroleum.
4 Brunner P H, Rechberger H. 2004, Practical handbook of material flow analysis. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment , 9(5): 337-338.
5 Chen W Q, Shi L, Qian Y. 2008. Description of anthropogenic aluminum cycles. Resources Science , 30(7): 1004-1012. (in Chinese)
6 Cheng S K, Min Q W, Yan L Z. 2005. From static assessment to dynamic processing: resources flow and its contents and methods. Journal of Natural Resources , 20(3): 407-414.(in Chinese)
7 Cohen G, Joutz F, Loungani P. 2011. Measuring energy security: Trends in the diversification of oil and natural gas supplies. Energy Policy , 39(9): 4860-4869.
8 Dahlström K, Ekins P, He J, et al . 2004. Iron, steel and aluminium in the UK: material flows and their economic dimensions. London: Policy Studies Institute .
9 Department of Energy Statistics, National Bureau of Statistics, People’s Republic of China. 2014, China Energy Statistical Yearbook . China Statistics Press.
10 Forfás I. 2006.A Baseline Assessment of Ireland's Oil Dependence: Key Policy Considerations, Available from: (accessed 06.02.14)
11 Graedel T E, Van Beers D, Bertram M, et al . 2004, Multilevel cycle of anthropogenic copper. Environmental science & technology, 38(4): 1242-1252.
12 Graedel T E, Beers D, Bertram M, et al . 2005, The multilevel cycle of anthropogenic zinc. Journal of Industrial Ecology , 9(3): 67-90.
13 Greene D L. 2010; Measuring energy security: Can the United States achieve oil independence ?. Energy Policy , 38(4): 1614-1621.
14 Gupta E. 2008. Oil vulnerability index of oil-importing countries. Energy policy , 36(3): 1195- 1211.
15 Houghton J T, Meira Filho L G, Lim B, et al . 1997. Greenhouse gas inventory reporting instructions, revised 1996 IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories, Vols. 1-3. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) , London, United Kingdom.
16 International Energy Agency (IEA). 2002. Energy balance (electronic database “Beyond 2020” and printed version “Energy balances of OECD countries”). Paris: International Energy Agency .
17 International Energy Agency (IEA). 2005a. Energy balances of OECD countries 1960-2003. CD-ROM, Paris, Cedex, France: Rue de la Fédération 9.
18 International Energy Agency (IEA). 2005b. Energy balances of Non-OECD countries 1971-2003. CD-ROM, Paris, Cedex, France: Rue de la Fédération 9.
19 IEA. 2015. Key world energy statistics 2015, International Energy Agency .
20 IEA. 2009. Energy Technology Transitions for Industry: Strategies for the Next Industrial Revolution, The International Energy Agency (IEA) .
21 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Available from: (accessed 06.02.16)
22 IPCC. 2007. Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change. Cambridge Univ. Press.
23 Jansen JC, Van Arkel WG, Boots MG. 2004. Designing indicators of long- term energy supply security. ECN-C-04-007. The Energy Research Centre of Netherlands .
24 Ji Q, Zhang HY, Fan Y. 2014. Identification of global oil trade patterns: an empirical research based on complex network theory. Energy Conversion and Management , 85: 856-865.
25 Liu G, Bangs C E, Müller D B. 2011. Unearthing potentials for decarbonizing the US aluminum cycle. Environmental Science & Technology , 45(22): 9515-9522.
26 Liu G, Bangs C E, Müller D B. 2013, Stock dynamics and emission pathways of the global aluminium cycle. Nature Climate Change , 3(4): 338-342.
27 Liu H, Jin F J, Liu Y, et al .2011. Evaluation and optimization of petrochemical industrial spatial organization in China, Acta Geographica Sinica , 66(10), 1332-1342.
28 Masanet E, Sathaye J. 2009. Challenges and opportunities in accounting for non-energy use CO2 emissions: an editorial comment. Climatic Change , 95(3): 395-403.
29 Mu?ller D B, Wang T, Duval B. 2010. Patterns of iron use in societal evolution. Environmental Science & Technology , 45(1): 182-188.
30 Müller D B, Wang T, Duval B, et al . 2006. Exploring the engine of anthropogenic iron cycles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 103(44): 16111-16116.
31 Mu?ller D B, Liu G, Løvik A N, et al . 2013, Carbon emissions of infrastructure development. Environmental Science & Technology , 47(20): 11739-11746.
32 Neelis M L, Patel M, Blok K. 2005a. CO 2 emissions and carbon storage resulting from the non-energy use of fossil fuels in the Netherlands, NEAT results for 1993-1999. Resources, Conservation and Recycling , 45(3): 251-274.
33 Neelis M L, Patel M, Gielen D J, et al . 2005b. Modelling CO 2 emissions from non-energy use with the non-energy use emission accounting tables (NEAT) model. Resources, Conservation and Recycling , 45(3): 226-250.
34 Patel M, Neelis M, Gielen D, et al . 2005. Carbon dioxide emissions from non-energy use of fossil fuels: Summary of key issues and conclusions from the country analyses. Resources, Conservation and Recycling , 45(3): 195-209.
35 Simon A J, Belles R D. 2011. Estimated state-level energy flows in 2008. CA: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. https://flowcharts. llnl. gov/content/en-ergy/energy archive/energy_flow_2008/2008stateenergy. pdf, 2011.
36 Vivoda V. 2009. Diversification of oil import sources and energy security: A key strategy or an elusive objective?. Energy Policy , 37(11): 4615- 4623.
37 Wang T, Müller D B, Graedel T E. 2007, Forging the anthropogenic iron cycle. Environmental Science & Technology , 41(14): 5120-5129.
38 Watts D J, Strogatz S H. 1998. Collective dynamics of ‘small-world’ networks. Nature , 393(6684): 440-442.
39 Weiss M, Neelis M L, Zuidberg M C, et al . 2008. Applying bottom-up analysis to identify the system boundaries of non-energy use data in international energy statistics. Energy , 33(11): 1609-1622.
40 Yang Y, Poon J P H, Liu Y, Bagchi-Sen S. 2015. Small and flat worlds: A complex network analysis of international trade in crude oil. Energy , 93: 534-543.
41 Yang,YY, Li JP, Sun XL, Chen JM.. 2014. Measuring external oil supply risk: A modified diversification index with country risk and potential oil exports. Energy , 68: 930-938.
42 Zhang HY, Ji Q, Fan Y. 2013. An evaluation framework for oil import security based on the supply chain with a case study focused on China. Energy Economics , 38: 87-95.
43 Zhang N, Lior N, Jin H. 2011. The energy situation and its sustainable development strategy in China. Energy , 36(6): 3639-3649.
44 Zhao B, Wang N. 2010. The spatial structure of the world’s petroleum flow and its flow field characteristics in the beginning of 21st century. Economic Geography . 2010, 30(6): 886-892. (in Chinese)
45 Zhao Y, Hao L S. 2006. The spatial structure of crude petroleum flow and the characteristic of its flow field in China. Geographical Research , 25(5): 753-764. (in Chinese)
46 Zhao Y, Hao L S. 2008. The forming mechanism of crude petroleum flow in China. Geographical Research , 27(5):1028-1037. (in Chinese)
47 Zhao Y, Hao L S. 2009. Analysis on the region classification of crude petroleum flow in China. Journal of Natural Resouces , 24(1):93-103. (in Chinese)
48 Zhong WQ, An HZ, Fang W, Gao XY, Dong D. 2016. Features and evolution of international fossil fuel trade network based on value of emergy. Applied Energy , 165: 868-877.

[1]	HAN Zhiyong, LI Tao, LIU Ximei. Temporal and Spatial Characteristics and Evolution of China’s Inbound Tourism Carbon Footprint [J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2021, 12(1): 56-67.
[2]	Sydney M. GREENFIELD, Aliana C. NORRIS, Joseph P. LAMBERT, Wu liji, Se yongjun, ZHAN Jinqi, MA Bing, LI Deng, SHI Kun, Philip RIORDAN. Ungulate Mortality due to Fencing and Perceptions of Pasture Fences in Part of the Future Qilianshan National Park [J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2021, 12(1): 99-109.
[3]	ZHONG Yang, LIN Aiwen, ZHOU Zhigao, HE Lijie, YUAN Moxi. Economic Development Status of the Countries along the Belt and Road and Their Correlations with Population and Carbon Emissions [J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2020, 11(6): 539-548.
[4]	WANG Xue, LI Xiubin. Impacts of Land Fragmentation and Cropping System on the Productivity and Efficiency of Grain Producers in the North China Plain: Taking Cangxian County of Hebei Province as an Example [J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2020, 11(6): 580-588.
[5]	TAO Hui, GAO Jing, CHEN Kaiqiang. Space Changes in the Rural Tourism Area of Mufu Town, Hubei Province, China [J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2020, 11(6): 633-644.
[6]	LIU Xianzhao*. A Comparative Decomposition Analysis of the Factors Driving Energy-related Carbon Emissions from Three Typical Provinces in China: Jiangsu, Henan and Inner Mongolia [J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2020, 11(5): 483-498.
[7]	LU Chunxia, LIU Aimin, XIAO Yu, LIU Xiaojie, XIE Gaodi, CHENG Shengkui. Changes in China’s Grain Production Pattern and the Effects of Urbanization and Dietary Structure [J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2020, 11(4): 358-365.
[8]	LIANG Yuting, HU Yunfeng, HAN Yueqi. Spatial Distribution and Dynamic Changes in Research Hotspots for Desertification in China based on Big Data from CNKI [J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2019, 10(6): 692-703.
[9]	JIN Mingming, XU Zengrang. Characteristics of Agricultural and Livestock Products Trade Flows between China and the “Belt and Road” Initiative Region: From the Perspective of Biocapacity [J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2019, 10(6): 584-597.
[10]	ZHOU Yezhi, WANG Juanle, WANG Yi, Elena A. Grigorieva. Estimation of Travel Climate Comfort Degree in the Cross-border Region between China and Russia based on GIS [J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2019, 10(6): 657-666.
[11]	ZHANG Wenjing. The Situation with College Express Packaging Waste and Recycling Recommendations—Taking the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences as an Example [J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2019, 10(5): 530-536.
[12]	ZHU He, WANG Jingru, ZHANG Xiyue. Comprehensive Assessment of Sustainable Tourism-oriented Revitalization in a Historic District: A Case Study of Qianmen Area, Beijing, China [J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2019, 10(5): 559-568.
[13]	DOU Qun,ZHANG Zhenya. Analysis on Environmental Pollution in China’s Coastal Ecosystem [J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2019, 10(4): 424-431.
[14]	LI Haifang,LIU Qinghua,LI Shimei,LI Wei,YANG Jinming. Comparison of Soil Moisture in Different Soil Layers between Three Typical Forests in the Upper Reaches of Lijiang River Basin, Southern China [J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2019, 10(3): 307-314.
[15]	ZANG Zheng. The Conceptual Model and Its Empirical Studies of Sustainable Carrying Capacity of Water Resources:A Case Study of China Mainland [J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2019, 10(1): 9-20.