Energy suppliesThe reserves in fossil fuels are unequally distributed (information as a percentage of the world reserves)

Europe has very few coal, crude oil and natural gas reserves. More than 60 per cent of the global oil reserves are situated in the Middle East. The German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) estimates that the worldwide reserves for fossil energy sources currently amount to 90 times the global primary energy consumption for 2007. Around 60% of these reserves consist of black coal and lignite, while a small proportion of the potential reserves consists of crude oil and natural gas. 96% of the resources that exist in addition to the reserves consist of black coal and lignite.