Karandikars & Associates

Primary Energy Physical Units

Energy products when measured by their mass or volume are referred to as "Physical Units"

These measurement units that are specific to an energy product and employed at the point of measurement of an energy flow are also often referred to as “original” or “natural” units

Solid fuels, such as coal and coke, are generally measured in mass units. The SI unit for mass is the kilogram (kg). Metric tons (tons) are most commonly used to measure coal and their derivatives. One metric ton corresponds to 1,000 kg

Volume units are original units for most liquid and gaseous fuels, as well as some traditional fuels. The SI unit for volume is the cubic metre, which is equivalent to a kilolitre or one thousand litres. Other volume units include the British or Imperial gallon (approximately 4.546 litres), United States gallon (approximately 3.785 litres), the barrel (approximately 159 litres), and the cubic foot, which is also used to measure volumes of gaseous fuels

The cross-fuel tabulations, such as the energy balances, however, are displayed in a “common” unit to allow comparison across energy products. These “common” units are usually referred to as "Energy units" and require the conversion from an original unit through the application of an appropriate conversion factor

Table below captures production of Coal, Lignite and Crude Oil in million tons, production of natural gas in Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) and production of non-fossil electricity in GWh. To avoid double counting, only non-fossil electricity is considered in primary energy production statistics

View the trends graphically