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Page added on May 24, 2016
8 Countries that Produce the Most Natural Gas in the World
These 8 countries that produce the most natural gas in the world are fully devoted to milking the cow while it lasts. Before we head on to the biggest natural gas producers in the world, let us first say something about the process of natural gas formation and the history of its use.
Natural gas is created when the layers of the remains of animals, as well as plants, are subjected to extreme heat and pressure, two elements which occur due to the layers being present under the Earth’s surface, over the course of several million years. It is a part of fossil fuels and is a very important source of energy in the world, with the energy provided by the fossil fuel being used for various purposes such as cooking, electricity generation and heating. Furthermore, natural gas is also used as fuel for various vehicles while another use of natural gas includes it being used as a chemical feedstock in plastic manufacturing and other organic chemicals as well. Fossil fuel is considered to be a non-renewable resource, which means it is not naturally replenished over the course of time.
vovan/Shutterstock.com
Natural gas has been used for around 2,500 years, with most believing the discovery of natural gas to center around the 500 BC mark. Other estimates even place the usage of natural gas at 1000 BC. It was first used in China where the Chinese discovered a method to allow the transport of natural gas which was seeping above from the ground via pipelines made of a material such as bamboo, in order to boil salt water so they could extract the salt from it.
Industrial extraction of natural gas came much later, in 1825 in the United States of America. This led to the global popularity of natural gas, and the resulting extraction means that even 7 years ago, around 8% of the entire global reserves had already been used. Studies have suggested that at the current rate of consumption of natural gas, the total reserves will last around 250 years. If the rate keeps increasing, then the reserves could run out within a century.
There are significant concerns regarding the environmental impact of natural gas production. As mentioned earlier, natural gas mainly consists of methane, which is a very harmful greenhouse gas, much more potent than even carbon dioxide.
The fossil fuel crisis has gripped the world and it not surprising that countries are uniting together in order to fight against this. Currently, 80% of the energy which is used by people for various purposes such as fuel or powering their homes comes from fossil fuels. The burning of fossil fuels releases harmful gasses which are part of the reason that climate change has become a very real worry.
Furthermore, it is interesting to note that even though the supply of gas will last at least several decades more, a large part of Europe is still dependent on Russia for their supply of gas. While countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark, France, and Romania can claim that any disruption of gas supply will not have a significant impact on them, the same is not true for other countries such as Lithuania, Finland, and Estonia. Considering the rocky relationship Russia has with the West, any trigger could have a major impact on the supply of natural gas available to these countries.
On the other hand, if fossil fuels are not your thing, you might be interested more in entertainment. If that is the case, then you may very well be interested in the 8 countries that produce the most movies in the world.
To determine the 8 countries that produce the most natural gas in the world, we consulted the US Energy Information Administration, which contains data regarding the production of natural gas by each country. Without further ado, here is the ranking, starting with number 8:
8. Netherlands
Production of natural gas by the country in 2014 (in billion cubic feet): 2,482
Zorandim/Shutterstock.com
7. Venezuela
Production of natural gas by the country in 2014 (in billion cubic feet): 2,709
Roman Sigaev/Shutterstock.com
6. Norway
Production of natural gas by the country in 2014 (in billion cubic feet): 3,995
QiuJu Song/Shutterstock.com
5. Saudi Arabia
Production of natural gas by the country in 2014 (in billion cubic feet): 4,122
PLRANG ART/Shutterstock.com
4. China
Production of natural gas by the country in 2014 (in billion cubic feet): 4,291
Zorandim/Shutterstock.com
3. Canada
Production of natural gas by the country in 2014 (in billion cubic feet): 6,814
Oleksandr Kalinichenko / Shutterstock.com
2. Russia
Production of natural gas by the country in 2014 (in billion cubic feet): 20,437
tcly / shutterstock.com
1. The United States of America
Production of natural gas by the country in 2014 (in billion cubic feet): 31,345
Producing more than 35% of the total output, the United States of America tops the list of 8 countries that produce the most natural gas in the world.
15 Comments on "8 Countries that Produce the Most Natural Gas in the World"
makati1 on Tue, 24th May 2016 7:37 am
Monkey brains thinks that this is important? Turn up the heat, gas burners!
The ice is melting and the oceans rising. THAT is what the world should be focused on, not who produces the most ways to turn up the thermostat.
onlooker on Tue, 24th May 2016 7:56 am
Yes part of our existential Catch 22, addicted to the power and goodies and living arrangements made possible by fossil fuels and thus unwilling to change course to a world without fossil fuels. Even if we decided too forsake FF , it would represent a total meltdown of modern industrial civilization creating worldwide havoc and trials and tribulations.
dave thompson on Tue, 24th May 2016 8:29 am
Oh so nice are the pictures and so simple to follow 1-8 numbers that illustrate nothing of value, except the conviction of “insider monkey” to tell us all where to invest our nonexistent capital.
Charles Edison Hammond on Tue, 24th May 2016 8:45 am
So what do other people use to keep warm in the winter time? Wood, Coal, Heating Oil, Burn twisted grasses, Solar, etc.
PracticalMaina on Tue, 24th May 2016 9:07 am
We just got more bullshit here in the states. Hooray fracking, who needs water, we got cheap natgas…so cheap a bunch doesn’t even make it to the consumers burner, don’t worry though they price that in.
Dustin Hoffman on Tue, 24th May 2016 9:27 am
Without natural gas, no artificial ag fertilizer. Say goodbye to the majority of you all posting here complaining about it all.
makati1 on Tue, 24th May 2016 9:31 am
Dustin, so be it. That day is fast approaching anyway. After all of those companies go broke the gas will stop. Oil too. Then the culling will begin in earnest.
rockman on Tue, 24th May 2016 10:02 am
Always amazing how folks like these will tout how much NG the US produces and then skip over the FACT that we consume more then we produce. In 2015 we were a net IMPORTER of NG to the tune of 595 bcf. Which is a hell of a lot better then in 2007 when we were a net IMPORTED of 3.8 TRILLION cuft of NG.
We’re not exporting LNG because we have more NG then we use. It’s happening and will continue happening because those foreign buyers are outbidding domestic buyers.
It ain’t personal…just business.
westexas on Tue, 24th May 2016 11:34 am
Because EIA data are incomplete for 2014, the author of the article missed (at least) Qatar and Iran.
And a more relevant measure of natural gas production is dry gas production, not gross gas production. Note that BP has complete 2014 data for the top producers, and they will soon be releasing 2015 data.
In any case, assuming a a decline rate of about 24%/year in existing US gas production* (a recent Citi Research estimate, which is the estimated rate of decline in production in the absence of new drilling), the estimated annual volumetric decline in existing US gas production matches or exceeds the rate of dry gas production of every country in the world, except for the US and Russia (2014 BP dry gas data).
*The observed net rate of decline in Louisiana’s gas production of 20%/year from 2012 to 2014 would seem to support this estimate. The net rate of decline would be the rate of decline after new wells were added, so Lousiana’s gross rate of decline was even higher than 20%/year.
PracticalMaina on Tue, 24th May 2016 11:41 am
Dustin Hofman, a majority of chemical fertilizers go to feed factory beef and pork. Living in the woods with some chickens and guinney hens cleaning up the disease carrying ticks sounds better to me.
PracticalMaina on Tue, 24th May 2016 11:44 am
Look a utility figuring out the obvious. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article79499217.html
westexas on Tue, 24th May 2016 1:00 pm
Here are the top 8 dry gas producers in the world, based on 2014 BP data (BCF/day, rounded off to nearest BCF):
US: 71 BCF/day
Russia: 56
Qatar: 17
Iran: 17
Canada: 16
China: 13
Saudi Arabia: 11
Norway: 11
As noted above, assuming a gross rate of decline of 24%/year from existing US gas production, US producers need to put on line about 17 BCF/day of new gas production per year–just to offset declines from existing wells–which matches or exceeds the 2014 dry gas production of every country in the world, except for the US & Russia.
billybubba on Tue, 24th May 2016 3:36 pm
US voters, politicians and totalitarian environmentalists have DEMANDED that over one half the total US NG production is burned in the fields as waste.Now, they demand the US producers spend over 1 billion USD because wasted NG is worth 100 million USD. PURE insanity has taken hold, and they are enjoying it.
Apneaman on Tue, 24th May 2016 4:15 pm
billybubba, prove it.
Bruce Oksol on Wed, 31st May 2017 10:02 am
Wow, how things have changed in one year. US LNG exports are surging.