While oil plays a commanding role in global energy markets, its position as a fuel source for electric powerplants ranges from dominant in certain countries to modest or non-existent in others.
Oil is mostly used by countries who have abundant supplies of it, such as the Persian Gulf countries, Russia and Venezuela. “If you don’t have to use oil, you’re not going to build oil-fired plants unless you’re sitting on it,” says Chris Bergesen, editorial director for UDI Productsat Platts—like ENR, a unit of McGraw-Hill.