The line graph provides information about the production output of the primary types of fossil fuels in the UK from 1981 to 2000. Overall, the production volumes of petroleum and natural gas witnessed an upward trend, with the former seeing more significant changes, while the opposite was true for the amount of coal. Additionally, the figure for petroleum was the largest across the period.
Focusing on the larger figures first, starting at about 95 energy units, the production volume of petroleum rose dramatically to 140 energy units, then remained unchanged between 1981 and 1986. Despite this, there was a decline in the figure for petroleum to 100 energy units and this was followed by a rise back to 140 energy units in the span of 10 years. After peaking at 145 energy units, the output capacity of petroleum decreased to 140 energy units in 2000, making it the largest figure of all periods. Similarly, a consistent rise was observed in the production output of natural gas from 40 energy units to 100 energy units over a 19-year period.
In contrast, the production capacity of coal remained stable at 80 energy units and then fell sharply to approximately 37 energy units, this followed by a rise back to around 82 energy units in the span of the first 5-year period. However, the amount of coal decreased steadily to about 38 energy units between 1986 and 2000.