Unit of Energy 1 CMO in ... ... is equal to ... | Symbol CMO | |
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SI base units 7020160000000000000♠1.6×10 kg·m/s CGS units 7027160000000000000♠1.6×10 erg kilowatt hours 7013445400000000000♠4.454×10 kWh | ||
The cubic mile of oil (CMO) is a unit of energy. It was created by Hew Crane of SRI International to aid in public understanding of global-scale energy consumption and resources.
Contents
- Definition and energy equivalents
- Annual energy consumption by source
- Global energy reserves
- References
Significant sources of energy include oil, coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydroelectric, and biomass (primarily the burning of wood). Other energy sources include geothermal, wind, photovoltaic, and solar thermal. The various energy units commonly used to measure these sources (e.g., joules, BTUs, kilowatt hours, therms) are only somewhat familiar to the general public, and their relationships can be confusing. These common energy units are sized for everyday activities (a joule is the energy required to lift a small apple one metre vertically). For regional, national, and global scales, larger energy units, such as the exajoule, the billion barrels of oil equivalent (BBOE) and the quad are used. Derived by multiplying the small common units by large powers of ten these larger units pose additional conceptual difficulties for many citizens.
Crane intended the cubic mile of oil to provide a visualizable scale for comparing the contributions of these diverse energy components as a percentage of total worldwide, energy use.
The global economy consumes approximately 30 billion barrels of oil (1.26 trillion U.S. gallons or 4.75 trillion litres) each year. Numbers of this magnitude are difficult to conceive by most people. The volume occupied by one trillion U.S. gallons is about one cubic mile. Crane felt that a cubic mile would be an easier concept for the general public than a trillion gallons.
Definition and energy equivalents
The CMO is the energy released by burning a cubic mile of oil. Conversions to other units may be calculated based on the barrel of oil equivalent (BOE), an approximation of the energy released by burning one 42-US-gallon barrel of crude oil. Since one BOE is about 7009611932394519600♠5.8×106 BTU and one cubic mile is about 7010262000000000000♠2.62×1010 barrels:
Annual energy consumption by source
The world consumes approximately 3 CMO annually from all sources. The table shows the small contribution from alternative energies in 2006.
A CMO/yr is about 5.084 TW continuous, making current world energy use around 15 TW.
Global energy reserves
Proved oil reserves are those that can be extracted with reasonable certainty under existing conditions using existing technology. Global proved oil reserves are estimated at approximately 1,300 billion barrels (210×109 m3). This corresponds to roughly 43 cubic miles, or 43 CMO. At the current rate of use, this would last about 40 years. Technological advances, new discoveries, and political changes will likely lead to additional proved oil reserves in the future. Concurrently, the International Energy Agency predicted in its 2005 World Energy Outlook that the annual consumption will increase by 50% by 2030. Coal and natural gas currently provide 1.42 CMO of energy per year. Global reserves of these fossil resources are as follows: