Resource base

Coal, tar, and heavy oil fuel reserves are widely distributed throughout the world. In the Western hemisphere, Canada has large tar sand, bitumen (very heavy cmde oil), and coal deposits. The United States has very large reserves of coal and shale. Coal comprises ca 85% of the U.S. recoverable fossil energy reserves (6). Venezuela has an enormous bitumen deposit and Brazil has significant oil shale (qv) reserves. Coal is also found in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Pern. Worldwide, the total resource base of these reserves is immense and may constitute >90% of the hydrocarbon resources in place (see... 

The economics of coal gasification are influenced by the availabiHty of oil and natural gas, but coal is expected to continue to play an ever-increasing role as a significant resource base for both energy and chemicals. 

The proven reserves of natural gas in the United States total about 4.58 Tm (1.62 X 10 fF). Production in 1993 was about 0.51 Tm (1.8 X 10 fF). Revisions and adjustments to the existing resource base, together with modest new additions to proven reserves, have held the recent decline in reserves to about 1.6 percent per year. 

The availability of a resource depends on the degree to which it is localised in one or a few countries (making it susceptible to production controls or cartel action) on the size of the reserves, or, more accurately, the resource base (explained shortly) and on the energy required to mine and process it. The influence of the last two (size of reserves and energy content) can, within limits, be studied and their influence anticipated. 

The calculation of resource life involves the important distinction between reserves and resources. The current reserve is the known deposits which can be extracted profitably at today s price using today s technology it bears little relationship to the true magnitude of the resource base in fact, the two are not even roughly proportional. 

Fig. 2.3. The distinclion between the reserve and the resource base, illustrated by the McElvey diagram.

In deciding where your primary sponsorship for PSM lies, keep in mind that the terms centralized" and decentralized" can be misleading because they are relative, not absolute. A company can be seen as decentralized because most operating decisions are made at the divisional level, working with broad corporate guidelines. A division that is part of the decentralized company may, itself, be a highly centralized entity, with key decisions coming from the top of the divisbn and most staff resources based at division headquarters, not in the field. 

One way to approach the human resources question is to consider not the people but the tasks to be performed, and the skills you think you will need. Especially in large companies, where bodies of expertise may be isolated from each other, this technique helps broaden the resource base. It also makes it easier for managers to assist you defining your needs in terms of skills sets, rather than of specific individuals, gives them greater flexibility. 

Urban, rural and industrial developments may have profound effects on the surrounding environment. Such effects can defeat the object of development, in that the negative environmental impact may outweigh the benefits. In the case of natural resources, inappropriate development may even destroy the resource base. If environmental matters are accorded adequate consideration during the planning and management of development programs and projects it is possible for pollutants to be assimilated. As a result, the whole development can be accommodated by the environment in such a way that adverse effects are minimized and the economic and social benefits of development are maximized. 

Thomson Sign in at www.thomsonedu.com to assess your knowledge of this chapter s topics by taking a pre-test. The pre-test will link you to interactive organic chemistry resources based on your score in each concept area. 

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