Energy Industries

Energy can be produced by various economic units, but not all of them should be treated as belonging to energy industries. To ensure international comparability, it is recommended that energy industries be defined as economic units whose principal activity is primary energy production, transformation of energy, or distribution of energy. A few practical additions are made to this core definition, described below [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.23, PDF p. 71, 2018] — recommendations tracker row V/5.23.

“Distribution” here refers to distribution systems (lines, meters, wiring, pipes) that convey energy products received from the generation facility or the transmission system to the final consumer — not the transmission systems that convey energy products from the generation facility to the distribution system, and not the wholesale of energy products (for example, bottled gases) [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.23, footnote 46, PDF p. 71, 2018].

Because data on energy production are required for various policy and analytical purposes, it is recommended that the collection, compilation and dissemination of statistics describing the main characteristics and activities of energy industries be considered part of official energy statistics [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.24, PDF p. 71, 2018] — recommendations tracker row V/5.24.

Box 5.1 — Principal, secondary and ancillary activities

IRES’s principal-activity test draws on the definitions used in the System of National Accounts (SNA 2008):

• Principal activity — the activity of a producer unit whose value added exceeds that of any other activity carried out within the same unit (SNA 2008, para. 5.8).
• Secondary activity — an activity carried out within a single producer unit in addition to the principal activity, whose output, like that of the principal activity, must be suitable for delivery outside the producer unit; its value added must be less than that of the principal activity by definition (SNA 2008, para. 5.9).
• Ancillary activity — an activity incidental to the main activity of an enterprise. It facilitates the efficient running of the enterprise but does not normally result in goods and services that can be marketed (SNA 2008, para. 5.10).

[IRES, Ch. V, Box 5.1, PDF p. 72, 2018, citing System of National Accounts 2008]

Identifying energy industries by plant

Energy industries are engaged in primary production, transformation and distribution of energy products. For the purposes of energy statistics, these diverse and technically complex activities can be conveniently identified by the establishments (plants) in which they occur — for example, the typical representatives of primary production are coal mines and oil and gas extraction plants [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.25, PDF p. 72, 2018].

To improve cross-country comparability, it is recommended that countries identify, as far as feasible and applicable, the energy industries listed in Table 5.1. Note that Table 5.1 considers a broader definition of energy industries than the core principal-activity test above — it also covers plants such as blast furnaces, whose main activity is not itself energy-related, but which are conveniently tracked by ISIC category [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.26, PDF p. 72, 2018] — recommendations tracker row V/5.26.

Table 5.1 — Energy industries with reference to the relevant ISIC category

Energy industry	ISIC Rev. 4
Electricity, CHP and heat plants(a)	Division: 35—Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply
Pumped storage plants
Coal mines	Division: 05—Mining of coal and lignite
Coke ovens	Group: 191—Manufacture of coke oven products
Coal liquefaction plants	Group: 192—Manufacture of refined petroleum products
Patent fuel plants	Group: 192—Manufacture of refined petroleum products
Brown coal briquette plants	Group: 192—Manufacture of refined petroleum products
Gas works(b) (and other conversion to gases)	Group: 352—Manufacture of gas; distribution of gaseous fuels through mains
Gas separation plants	Division: 06—Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas
Gas-to-liquids (GTL) plants	Group: 192—Manufacture of refined petroleum products
LNG plants/regasification plants	Group: 091—Support activities for petroleum and natural gas extraction; Class: 5221—Service activities incidental to land transportation
Blast furnaces	Group: 241—Manufacture of basic iron and steel
Oil and gas extraction	Division: 06—Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas; Group: 091—Support activities for petroleum and natural gas extraction
Oil refineries	Group: 192—Manufacture of refined petroleum products
Charcoal plants(c)	Class: 2011—Manufacture of basic chemicals
Biogas production plants(d)	Group: 352—Manufacture of gas; distribution of gaseous fuels through mains
Nuclear fuel extraction and fuel processing	Class: 0721—Mining of uranium and thorium ores; Class: 2011—Manufacture of basic chemicals
Other energy industry not elsewhere specified(e)	Class: 0892—Extraction of peat; ….

Notes to Table 5.1:

• (a) Also including the distribution of electricity and heat to consumers.
• (b) Also including the distribution of these gases.
• (c) The provided ISIC link refers to the production of charcoal through distillation of wood. If charcoal is produced in the forest using traditional methods, the activity would be classified in ISIC 0220 (“Logging”).
• (d) Plants having the production of biogases as their main activity would be classified in ISIC class 3520, as indicated in the table above. However, biogases may also be produced as by-products of other activities, such as those classified in ISIC 3700 (“Sewerage”) and 3821 (“Treatment and disposal of non-hazardous waste”).
• (e) The given ISIC link provides an example, namely the extraction of peat, but is not exhaustive.

[IRES, Ch. V, Table 5.1, PDF p. 72, 2018]

Descriptions of the energy industries

A brief description of each energy industry in Table 5.1 follows [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.27, PDF p. 73, 2018].

Electricity, combined heat and power (CHP) and heat plants — given detailed treatment on Electricity and Heat Production [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.28, PDF p. 73, 2018].

Coal mines are plants extracting coal through underground or open-cast mining. In addition to extraction itself, the operation of coal mines also includes operations such as grading, cleaning and compressing, leading to a marketable product [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.29, PDF p. 73, 2018].

Coke ovens are large ovens within which coke oven coke, coke oven gas and coal tars are produced by high-temperature carbonization of coking coal [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.30, PDF p. 73, 2018].

Coal liquefaction plants are plants where coal is used as a feedstock to produce liquid fuels by hydrogenation or carbonization — also known as coal to liquid (CTL) plants [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.31, PDF p. 73, 2018].

Patent fuel plants are plants manufacturing patent fuel [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.32, PDF p. 73, 2018].

Brown coal briquette plants are plants manufacturing brown coal briquettes (BKB) [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.33, PDF p. 73, 2018].

Gas works (and other conversion to gases) are plants manufacturing gases for distribution to the public, either directly or after blending with natural gas. The gases are collectively referred to as “gas works gas and other manufactured gases for distribution” — short name, gas works gas. Some gas works may produce coke as well as gas [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.34, PDF p. 73, 2018].

Gas separation plants are plants involved in the separation of associated gas from crude oil, and/or the separation of condensate, water, impurities and natural gas liquids from natural gas, and may also carry out fractionation of the recovered natural gas liquids [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.35, PDF p. 73, 2018].

Gas-to-liquids (GTL) plants are plants in which natural gas is used as a feedstock for the production of liquid fuels, usually used as vehicle fuels. GTL plants are distinct from liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants, which convert gaseous natural gas into liquid natural gas [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.36, PDF p. 73, 2018].

LNG plants/regasification plants carry out liquefaction and/or regasification of natural gas for the purpose of transport; this activity can occur on or off the actual point of production [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.37, PDF p. 73, 2018].

Blast furnaces produce blast furnace gas as a by-product when making pig iron from iron ore. Carbon, mainly in the form of coke, is added to the furnace to support and reduce the iron oxide charge and provide heat; blast furnace gas comprises carbon monoxide and other gases formed during the heating and reduction process [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.38, PDF p. 73, 2018].

Oil and gas extraction covers extracting crude oil, mining and extracting oil from oil shale and oil sands, extracting natural gas, and recovery of natural gas liquids — including drilling, completing and equipping wells, operating separators, emulsion breakers, desilting equipment and field gathering lines, and all other activities preparing oil and gas up to the point of shipment from the producing site [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.39, PDF p. 73, 2018].

Oil refineries are plants that transform crude oil and other hydrocarbons (together with additives, feedstocks and natural gas liquids) into finished oil products — typically liquefied petroleum gases, naphtha, motor gasoline, gas oils, aviation fuels and other kerosene, and fuel oils [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.40, PDF p. 73, 2018].

Charcoal plants are plants in which wood or other vegetal matter is carbonized through slow pyrolysis to produce charcoal [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.41, PDF p. 73, 2018].

Biogas production plants capture and/or manufacture biogases, which arise from the anaerobic fermentation of biomass — sourced from landfills, sewage sludge, agricultural residues, among others — and also include synthesis gas produced from biomass [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.42, PDF p. 74, 2018].

Nuclear fuel extraction and fuel processing plants are involved in mining ores chiefly valued for their uranium and thorium content, the concentration of such ores, the production of yellowcake, the enrichment of uranium and thorium ores, and/or the production of fuel elements for nuclear reactors [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.43, PDF p. 74, 2018].

Other energy industry not elsewhere specified is a residual category for any energy industry not covered elsewhere in the list — one example is the extraction of peat for energy purposes [IRES, Ch. V, para. 5.44, PDF p. 74, 2018].

Related

• IRES Chapter V — Energy Flows — the chapter digest this page supports
• Production — the flow most directly generated by energy industries’ principal activity
• Transformation — the other core activity by which energy industries are defined
• Energy Industries Own Use — own use of energy by these units, excluded from final consumption by convention
• International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities — the classification Table 5.1 cross-references
• SIEC Classification System — the product classification whose products these industries produce, transform and distribute
• System of National Accounts — the standard Box 5.1’s principal/secondary/ancillary activity definitions are drawn from
• Electricity and Heat Production — the detailed producer/plant typology for the “Electricity, CHP and heat plants” row
• Other Energy Producers — the mirror-image group, defined by the opposite (secondary/ancillary) activity test