The tonne of oil equivalent (toe) is a unit of energy defined as the amount of energy released by burning one tonne of crude oil. It is approximately 42 gigajoules or 11.630 megawatt-hours, although as different crude oils have different calorific values, the exact value is defined by convention; several slightly different definitions exist. The toe is sometimes used for large amounts of energy.
Multiples of the toe are used, in particular the megatoe (Mtoe, one million toe) and the gigatoe (Gtoe, one billion toe). A smaller unit of kilogram of oil equivalent (kgoe or koe) is also sometimes used denoting 1/1000 toe.
The International Energy Agency defines one tonne of oil equivalent (toe) to be equal to: [1]
Conversion into other units:
Some other sources and publications use divergent definitions of toe, for example:
Tonne of oil equivalent should be used carefully when converting electrical units. For instance, BP's 2022 report used a factor of 40% efficiency (the average efficiency of a standard thermal power plant in 2017), or roughly 16.8 GJ per toe, when converting kilowatt-hours to toe. BP's model is also based on the assumption that efficiency will increase linearly to 45% by 2050. [10]
For multiples of the tonne of oil equivalent, it is more usual to speak of millions of tonnes of oil equivalent and kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe).
| Multiple | Name | Symbol |
|---|---|---|
| 103 | kilotonne of oil equivalent | ktoe |
| 106 | megatonne of oil equivalent | Mtoe |
The British thermal unit is a measure of heat, which is a form of energy. It was originally defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. It is also part of the United States customary units. The SI unit for energy is the joule (J); one BTU equals about 1,055 J.
The joule is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to the amount of work done when a force of one newton displaces a mass through a distance of one metre in the direction of that force. It is also the energy dissipated as heat when an electric current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second. It is named after the English physicist James Prescott Joule (1818–1889).
Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses.
The tonne is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton and the long ton. It is equivalent to approximately 2204.6 pounds, 1.102 short tons, and 0.984 long tons. The official SI unit is the megagram, a less common way to express the same amount.
The barrel of oil equivalent (BOE) is a unit of energy based on the approximate energy released by burning one barrel of crude oil. The BOE is used by oil and gas companies in their financial statements as a way of combining oil and natural gas reserves and production into a single measure, although this energy equivalence does not take into account the lower financial value of energy in the form of gas.
The therm is a non-SI unit of heat energy equal to 100,000 British thermal units (BTU), and approximately 105 megajoules, 29 kilowatt-hours, 25200 kilocalories and 25.2 thermies. One therm is the energy content of approximately 100 cubic feet of natural gas at standard temperature and pressure. However, the BTU is not standardised worldwide, with slightly different values in the EU, UK, and USA, meaning that the energy content of the therm also varies by territory.
A barrel is one of several units of volume applied in various contexts; there are dry barrels, fluid barrels, oil barrels, and so forth. For historical reasons the volumes of some barrel units are roughly double the volumes of others; volumes in common use range approximately from 100 to 200 litres. In many connections the term drum is used almost interchangeably with barrel.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to energy:
Specific energy or massic energy is energy per unit mass. It is also sometimes called gravimetric energy density, which is not to be confused with energy density, which is defined as energy per unit volume. It is used to quantify, for example, stored heat and other thermodynamic properties of substances such as specific internal energy, specific enthalpy, specific Gibbs free energy, and specific Helmholtz free energy. It may also be used for the kinetic energy or potential energy of a body. Specific energy is an intensive property, whereas energy and mass are extensive properties.
Gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) or gasoline-equivalent gallon (GEG) is the amount of an alternative fuel it takes to equal the energy content of one liquid gallon of gasoline. GGE allows consumers to compare the energy content of competing fuels against a commonly known fuel, namely gasoline.
Energy is defined via work, so the SI unit of energy is the same as the unit of work – the joule (J), named in honour of James Prescott Joule and his experiments on the mechanical equivalent of heat. In slightly more fundamental terms, 1 joule is equal to 1 newton metre and, in terms of SI base units
Energy crops are low-cost and low-maintenance crops grown solely for renewable bioenergy production. The crops are processed into solid, liquid or gaseous fuels, such as pellets, bioethanol or biogas. The fuels are burned to generate electrical power or heat.
Concentrated solar power systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight into a receiver. Electricity is generated when the concentrated light is converted to heat, which drives a heat engine connected to an electrical power generator or powers a thermochemical reaction.
Romania is the 38th largest energy consumer in the world and the largest in South Eastern Europe as well as an important producer of natural gas, oil and coal in Europe.
A Cubic Mile of Oil is a 2010 book by Hewitt Crane, Edwin Kinderman, and Ripudaman Malhotra. The title refers to a unit of energy intended to provide a visualizable scale for comparing large amounts of energy. Defined as the energy released by burning a cubic mile of oil, a "CMO" is approximately equal to 1.6×1020 joule. A cubic mile of oil was approximately the world's yearly consumption of oil at the time of the book and the book examines the possible replacements with other sources. For example, it would require building 32,850 wind turbines or 52 nuclear power plants, each year for 50 years, to obtain in one year the amount of energy contained in one cubic mile of oil. In 2022, Visual Capitalist estimated global consumption of oil translated into a cube 1706 meters on a side (or ~6% longer than 1 mile [1609 meters]).
The use of biofuels varies by region. The world leaders in biofuel development and use are Brazil, United States, France, Sweden and Germany.
The energy mix is a group of different primary energy sources from which secondary energy for direct use - such as electricity - is produced. Energy mix refers to all direct uses of energy, such as transportation and housing, and should not be confused with power generation mix, which refers only to generation of electricity.
Krishna Godavari Basin is a peri-cratonic passive margin basin in India. It is spread across more than 50,000 square kilometres in the Krishna River and Godavari River basins in Andhra Pradesh. The site is known for the D-6 block where Reliance Industries discovered the biggest natural gas reserves in India in 2003.
Energy in Belarus describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Belarus. Belarus is a net energy importer. According to IEA, the energy import vastly exceeded the energy production in 2015, describing Belarus as one of the world's least energy sufficient countries in the world. Belarus is very dependent on Russia.
Biofuels play a major part in the renewable energy strategy of Denmark. Denmark is using biofuel to achieve its target of using 100% renewable energy for all energy uses by 2050. Biofuels provide a large share of energy sources in Denmark when considering all sectors of energy demand. In conjunction with Denmark's highly developed renewable energy resources in other areas, biofuels are helping Denmark meet its ambitious renewable energy targets.
