Two international rivals – the US and Russia – are by far the largest natural gas-producing countries in the world, dominating the supplies of a resource that is used widely in heating and electricity generation.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), natural gas has accounted for almost one-third of overall energy demand growth over the past decade, more than any other fuel, and accounts for around 23% of the world’s primary energy demand.
Global production has been growing steadily since the 2008 financial crisis – boosted by the progress of shale fracking in the US – and, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2020, totalled just under four trillion cubic metres (tcm) in 2019.
Total resources of this fuel have been measured at around 199 tcm globally, with a handful of countries accounting for the largest natural gas reserves in the world.
While the growth of clean energy continues to advance as part of the low-carbon transition, natural gas is widely expected to remain a relied-upon fuel source for years to come – functioning as a bridge between higher-carbon fossil fuels like coal and oil and the growing fleet of variable renewables like wind and solar.
For more information please visit BP’s website.