At the moment, world gas production covers a fifth of the electricity generation resources. And modern industry consumes more than 30% of the produced minerals.

Geographic location of gas deposits

Surface gas outlets are confined to mountainous regions. The release of fossil fuels to the surface occurs as both small bubbles and huge fountains. On water-soaked soil, it is easy to notice such small manifestations. Large emissions create mud volcanoes up to several hundred meters.

Before the industrialization of the world, surface gas outlets were quite enough. With the growth of gas consumption, it became necessary to search for deposits and drill wells. The most voluminous explored reserves of such a valuable mineral are located all over the world.

Since gas belongs to sedimentary minerals, its deposits should be sought in mountainous regions, at the bottom of the seas and oceans, or in places where the seas were located in ancient times.

The first place in terms of gas volumes is occupied by the South Pars / North oil and gas field, which is located in the Persian Gulf. South Pars is under the jurisdiction of Iran, and North Pars is under Qatar. Surprisingly huge deposits, despite their very close proximity, are separate deposits of different ages. Their overall volume estimated at 28 trillion cubic meters of gas.

The next in the list in terms of reserves is the Urengoy oil and gas condensate field, located in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District Russian Federation. The explored reserves of this giant field amounted to 16 trillion cubic meters. Now these deposits are within 10.2 trillion cubic meters.

The third field is Hainsville, located in the USA. Its volume is 7 trillion m3.

Gas production areas in the world

The largest reserves of natural fuels are located in several locations:

• Alaska;
• Gulf of Mexico (United States of America);
• the Far East of Russia and the region of western Siberia;
• the shelves of the Barents and Kara Seas;
• continental shelves of Latin America;
• south of Turkmenistan;
• Arabian Peninsula and Iran;
• water area of ​​the North Sea;
• Canadian provinces;
• China.

Leading countries in gas production

About twenty fields contain most of the natural resource reserves - about 1200 billion cubic meters. Several countries produce gas.

Country #1

Russian Federation. Blue fuel resources are about 32.6 trillion cubic meters. Russia owns nine of the largest gas deposits in the world. The gas industry is the backbone Russian economy. More than 60% of the reserves are in deposits in Western Siberia, the Volga region, the North Caucasus and the Urals. Gas production - 642.917 billion m3 per year.

Country #2

Iran. Gas resources amount to 34 trillion cubic meters - this is almost a fifth of the world's reserves. Gas production (212.796 billion m3 per year) is concentrated in the northern region of the state and on the shelf of the Persian Gulf. International sanctions have had a negative impact on the country's gas industry. Their abolition in 2016 allows again increasing the volume of gas production, which makes Iran the closest competitor to Russia in the extraction of natural fuel.

The map shows a gas field in Iran

State #3

Qatar. Fuel resources - 24.5 trillion cubic meters. The country relatively recently joined the leaders of exporters of blue fuel. Gas production, amounting to 174.057 billion m3 per year, its processing and supply to international markets started in 1995–1997. Liquefied gas is produced only in the city of Ras Laffan. More than 80% of the extracted minerals are exported.

Country #4

Turkmenistan. The reserves of gas fields amount to 17.5 trillion cubic meters. Gas production takes place in the country's only field - Galkynysh. Most of the fossil comes from European market. In 2006, the state was included in the Nabucco project - gas supplies via a pipeline from the Asian region directly to Europe. But due to regular conflicts in each of the proposed participating countries, the project was delayed. In 2013, Nabucco was closed without being built. The priority was the Trans-Adriatic gas pipeline.

State #5

USA. Natural gas reserves amount to 9.8 trillion cubic meters. Gas production takes place in four states of the state: Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming and Colorado - 729,529. And also blue fuel is extracted from the depths of the continental shelf, but its share in the total volumes of the country is small - only 5%. Gas is produced by private companies.

The leaders in the extraction of natural fuels are:

• ExxonMobil
• Chevron
• Phillips 66

State #6

Saudi Arabia. Blue fuel deposits are estimated at 8200 billion cubic meters. Leading country of OPEC. The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (or Saudi Aramco) is the only national gas producer in Saudi Arabia. Gas production takes place in 70 fields - this is 102.380 billion m3 per year. The largest of them is Tukhman, located in the Rub al-Khali desert, whose reserves are assumed to be at the level of 1 billion m3.

State #7

United United Arab Emirates. Explored reserves of blue fuel at the level of 6100 billion cubic meters. The main volumes lie in the emirate of Abu Dhabi (5600 billion m3). Abu Dhabi also has the world's largest Khuff gas reservoir. The remaining hydrocarbon deposits are distributed in the emirates of Sharjah (283 thousand million m3), Dubai (113 thousand million m3), Ras Al Khaimah (34 thousand million m3).

Gas production covers only a small excess of the state's own needs. used in the UAE for electricity generation, in the oil industry. The demand for blue fuel is constantly growing due to the constant increase in the pace of production in the industry.

From the oil fields "Lower Zakum", "Bunduk" and "Um-Shaif" the plant of the ADGAS company is engaged. Also, this company is engaged in the export of natural gas. To solve problems with gas production, the Dolphin project was created. Dolphin is a gas pipeline network linking the UAE and Qatar.

Country #8

Venezuela. The reserves amount to 5600 billion cubic meters of natural gas, which is almost 3% of the world's reserves. The main volumes are associated gas with oil. Together with foreign companies, it is developing offshore gas fields. Participating in these projects are:

• Rosneft.
• Gazprom.
• Lukoil (RF).
• CNOOC Ltd (PRC).
• Sonatrach (Algeria).
• Petronas (Malaysia).

Country #9

Nigeria. Approximate fuel reserves 5100 billion m3. The country is a member of OPEC and performs the largest gas production in Africa. The gas industry is the backbone of the country's economy - more than 90% of the foreign exchange earnings of the Nigerian budget. At the same time, despite high incomes, the state is very poor due to corruption, poorly developed infrastructure and a weak economy based only on the gas industry.

Country #10

Algeria. Explored deposits of fossil 4500 billion cubic meters. After the 90s In the 20th century, due to the growth of investments, explored reserves doubled. The largest deposit is Khass-Rmel, followed by Gurd-Nus, Nezla, Wend-Numkr. Algerian gas is of high quality, minimal impurities and unrelated to oil. Hydrocarbon production at the level of 83,296 per year.

Country #11

Norway. Three quarters of deposits in Western Europe have been identified in the North Sea. Volumes are assumed to be 765 billion cubic meters. And also found mineral deposits of about 47,700 billion cubic meters at the North Pole. Norwegian companies were among the first to produce gas using floating drilling rigs.

Country #12

Canada. Most of the produced gas is exported - 88.29 thousand m3, and the country itself consumes 62.75 thousand m3. The largest deposits are recorded in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, as well as on the shelf of the eastern part of the continent near Newfoundland. The main foreign consumer of Canadian hydrocarbons is the USA. At the moment, the states are connected by a gas pipeline.

State #13

China. China is one of the leaders in gas production. Most of the volumes are consumed by the state itself. Only blue fuel enters the international markets. Chinese gas deposits have been established in the South China Sea - the Yacheng field, the reserve volume is 350 billion cubic meters. On land, the largest deposit is in the Tarim Basin, which has 500 billion cubic meters of proven reserves.

Video: The entire natural gas production and treatment chain

Natural gas is the cheapest and most environmentally friendly fuel. The leader in world gas production is Russia, where the huge basin of Western Siberia is located. The largest gas-producing country is the United States, followed by Canada, Turkmenistan, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Unlike oil-producing countries, the main gas-producing countries are the developed countries of Europe and North America. In terms of natural gas reserves, two regions are distinguished: the CIS (western Siberia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) and the Middle East (Iran). The main exporters of gas are Russia, which supplies gas to the Eastern and Western Europe; Canada and Mexico supplying gas to the US; the Netherlands and Norway, supplying gas to Western Europe; Algeria, which provides gas to Western Europe and the United States; Indonesia, Middle East countries, Australia exporting gas to Japan. Gas transportation is provided in two ways: through main gas pipelines and with the help of gas carriers when transporting liquefied gas.

The first place in natural gas production is occupied by the United States of America (about 20% of the gas produced in the world), followed by Russia (17.6%) with a certain margin. However, due to the depletion of natural gas reserves in the United States, its production tends to decrease. A significant level of gas production remains in Canada, Iran, Norway, but their total share in the global gas production does not exceed 14%.

The dynamics of actual gas production is characterized only by its volumes that enter the main gas pipelines. This is the so-called marketable production, which differs from gross production by the amount of various losses (associated gas, gas used for injection into an oil reservoir, flared or released into the air and other losses). In a number of countries, gas production, in addition to natural gas, includes associated petroleum gas, therefore, in particular, in Russia, gas production indicators published by domestic statistical authorities do not coincide with international statistics.

The ratio of marketable production to gross production, which characterizes the degree of losses during production, is called the utilization factor. In industrial developed countries this figure increased from 68% in the 1950s to 86% in the 1990s, while in developing countries it generally does not exceed 45%. The efficiency of natural gas production in different regions varies significantly, which indicates a gap in the levels of technologies used. In Western Europe, for example, the recycling rate is 89%, in North America - 80%, in Latin America - 66%, in Africa - 38%.

The main countries exporting and importing gas.

The main cargo flows of gas.

The largest share in terms of consumption of natural gas, as well as in terms of its production, remains with North America - 32%, in which the United States has been and remains the world's largest consumer of this type of fuel (600-650 billion m3 per year).

The share of foreign European countries in gas consumption is 21.1%, among countries

the following stand out: Germany - 80 billion m3, Great Britain - 90 billion m3.

The share of foreign Asian countries in gas consumption is 19% (Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Iran stand out).

Countries with economies in transition - 22.4% (CIS countries, China).

The share of Latin America in world natural gas consumption is relatively small - 3.9%.

Those. From all of the above, it can be seen that the main importers of gas are Foreign Europe, the USA and Japan, and the main exporters are the CIS countries (Russia, Turkmenistan), Foreign Europe (Netherlands, Norway), Foreign Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, UAE), Africa ( Algeria), as well as Canada.

Export-import operations with natural gas are carried out in two ways: through main gas pipelines (75%) and using sea transport in liquefied form (25%). Main gas pipelines serve intracontinental trade (Canada - USA; Netherlands, Norway - other European countries; Russia - countries of Eastern and Western Europe).

In some cases, gas pipelines also carry out interregional and intercontinental trade (Africa - Western Europe).

Russia has been and continues to be the largest exporter of natural gas (200 billion m3 per year).

Unlike oil, it is still premature to talk about the world market for P.G. It is more correct to talk about several regional markets.

In the international trade in liquefied gas in the world economy, two main gas transportation systems have developed - the system of the Asia-Pacific region is the most powerful and branched, provides more than Uz of all world export-import supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The Asia-Pacific region (the leading exporting country is Indonesia) supplies gas to Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan.

The African-Western European Gas Transportation System (the leading exporting countries are Algeria, Libya, Nigeria) supplies gas to France, Spain, and Belgium.

export import gas market

It is impossible to overestimate the role of natural gas, which is in great demand and is declining catastrophically, given the global consumption volumes, it is impossible. The United States and Russia have become the leaders in gas production in the world, constantly competing for superiority and having hundreds of deposits of this wealth on their territories.

The annual production of shale gas by these two countries is 40% of the world's volumes. The United States has practically abandoned imported gas and is actively developing its territories by converting part of the gas production facilities for export purposes.

The instability of the world gas market, an increase in its exports to other countries and, as a result, a decrease in prices, forces Russia to cancel long-term gas supply contracts, constantly make concessions in prices to importing countries and develop new fields with less intensity.

The extraction of this raw material, although at a slower pace, is carried out on the territory of Qatar, Iran, SAO, Algeria and other countries.

The tendency to increase gas production, which began in the middle of the 20th century, has increased tenfold in our time. This is due to the increase in aviation, road, sea transport, the development of the chemical industry, which has increased tenfold in demand for electrical energy resources. Possibility in the near future to transfer a number of Vehicle(including most of the cars), on a relatively inexpensive gas fuel, has increased its world production several times over the past eight years, and has occupied the minds of scientists with the discovery of new deposits, accumulation forms and methods of gas production.

Data on gas production of conglomerate states vary. Each country maintains its own statistics, which are summarized for the year and published in print media. According to the reports of statistical agencies, over the past few years, the United States has quadrupled gas production in shale deposits, overtaking Russia, and is not going to slow down.

Only data on gas sold and actually consumed in the country can be recorded, the costs and utilization factor associated with production (losses during gas emissions into the atmosphere, combustion during production, etc.) are not taken into account. The utilization factor is the greater, the greater the degree of development of the gas industry.

By 2030, shale gas reserves (for which the standard deep well drilling method is used) will be at a critical limit in many countries. According to scientists, the world's reserves of this fuel are decreasing exponentially every year, and the rate of production predicts the depletion of the resource in 50-70 years. The issue of extraction of hydrated and mine methane gas becomes topical. Both varieties are currently only beginning to enter the field of study. Their production is associated with the construction of new drilling rigs and the development of new methods of gas purification from impurities.

Gas is the safest fuel in terms of environmental impact. When it is burned, a smaller amount of harmful volatile compounds is formed than from the combustion of other types of fuel. The main danger threatening humanity with an increase in gas production is a reduction in the species abundance of animals due to deforestation in the territories of gas fields, as well as erosion processes occurring under the influence of drilling.

Statistical overview of the leading countries in gas production in the world

	Volume share of production, billion cubic meters m.	Percentage of production among the leading countries	The largest deposits	Territorial location	Total reserves of trillion cubic meters m.
			gulf coast
			Urengoy, Bovanenskoe	Western and Eastern Siberia
			South Pars	Persian Gulf
			North Pars	Persian Gulf
			rainbow lake	Newfoundland islands
				Southwest China
Norway			Troll West	North Sea
Saudi Arabia				Eastern part of SAO
			HassiRmel	North Africa
Turkmenistan			Galkynysh	Southeast of Turkmenistan

1. USA - the volume of production has grown over the past three years by 4 times and tends to increase. Due to this, they stopped almost completely importing gas into their territories. Main deposit:

• Gulf Coast Basin Mining occurs in the rocky mountainous regions of eastern Texas and southern Arkansas. The depth of the gas is more than 3 kilometers.

Russia - the main deposits are located in Western Siberia and the Far East, they are unique in size, often associated with oil fields (gas is a by-product of oil production). Leaders among deposits:

• Urengoy field - Western Siberia - the third largest in the world - reserves - 4.5 trillion. cube m., more than a thousand wells. Today, it is possible to extract gas only from very deep layers of sediments.
• Markovskoye field - Eastern Siberia - 2.4 trillion. cube m.
• Bovanenskoye field - Yamal Peninsula - 3.2 trillion. cube m., despite the recent development period, and a small volume of production, is considered very promising.
• Ust-Vilyuiskoye deposits - Far East - 1.5 trillion. cube m.

Russia is the main gas exporting state in the world, and it has advantages over other producers due to two ways of supplying raw materials: by sea (gas is transported in liquid form) and through a gas pipeline.

Gulf countries

Development is carried out on the territory of the Persian Gulf, which is divided by a tectonic fault into 2 parts. Both deposits are of different age of origin and are isolated from each other.

1. Iran - South Pars, - the northern part of the Gulf.
2. Qatar - North Pars - the southern part of the Gulf.
3. SAO - Gavar - the eastern part of the Persian Gulf. The depth of occurrence depends on the rock of the gas-bearing layer and ranges from 1 to 3 km.

Raw materials are exported in large quantities to most European countries.

1. Canada - the main reserves are located in the northern province of Newfoundland, capture part of the Appalachian mountains - several gas fields. Most of the produced gas is exported to the United States.

• Rainbow Lake is the southern part of the Canadian state.

China - the largest field is being developed in the southwestern part of China, in the Sichuan depression, which is located in a mountainous area. 50% of the extracted fuel is used to meet their needs

• - Dazhou is one of the administrative centers in Sichuan province. Active importer of fuel - about 25 billion. cube m per year.

Norway - ranks second among European countries for the production of blue fuel - the Norwegian region of the North Sea is being developed at an extra pace.

• - Troll West - the occurrence of fossil raw materials occurs at a depth of 400 meters, from at least three sources.

Algeria - one of the five largest exporters in the world, gas fields are separated from oil fields. The gas is clean in chemical composition (includes a minimum amount of impurities).

• -Hassi-Rmel - location - north of Algeria.

Turkmenistan - has giant deposits. Actively exports gas fuel to Europe.

• Galkynysh - location - southeast of Turkmenistan, includes three large deposits.

The article presents current and official data for 2016, based on the statistical information provided by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Modern conditions of human life cannot be imagined without the presence of natural gas as a fuel. Ecological cleanliness, good thermal conductivity, easy transportability, relatively low price and other positive properties make it indispensable in many areas of human life, industry and power industry.

World leaders in natural gas production in the world

The main consumers are geographically located outside the districts. This is due to the geography of the distribution of industry and the electric power industry, as well as the population density in a particular region.

Since the 1970s, the largest volumes of consumption have been in three regions of the globe: North America, Overseas Europe and CIS countries. Of these regions, only the United States of America and Canada can fully supply themselves with the necessary reserve of the fuel resource. In other regions, large consumption is not at the expense of their own resources - exports from producing countries prevail.

The diagram shows the main areas of gas production in the world, individual countries are taken as the area. In total, all indicators are taken as 100%, not counting the rest of the territories, which account for a small amount of development. The unit of measure in the diagram is billion cubic meters.

In terms of natural gas production, more than 25% of the world belongs to the United States, which occupy a leading position. The second place is occupied by Russia, which accounts for about 20 percent of the total production of the ten leading regions.

The position of countries in the list of leaders in gas production does not at all mean the leadership of these states in the world fuel trade, that is, exports to other regions of the world. For 2016, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries compiled a rating of countries that are export-oriented, of which eight are the leaders.

About 1,200 billion cubic meters of gas are concentrated in the twenty largest gas fields. Geography of areas that are rich in data natural resource confined to the territories of the following states of the world:

1. Russia. 9 of the 20 largest fuel deposits are located on the lands of the Russian Federation. Most of them were opened in the 60-80s of the last century. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, three new large deposits were discovered in Russia, which were included in the TOP-20: West Kamchatskoye, Leningradskoye and Rusanovskoye (read also -).
2. USA. There are 4 largest deposits in the sub-region, which were discovered in the mid-1960s, and began to be intensively used at the end of the 20th century.
3. Qatar and Iran. There are two rich places here, one of which simultaneously occupies the state lands of Qatar and Iran.
4. Turkmenistan. Just one rich place that is among the leaders in terms of gas reserves.
5. China. One large deposit, which was discovered in 2008 and ranked tenth in the TOP-20 states in terms of resource reserves ().
6. Algeria. The last three lines in the ranking are occupied by regions of Algeria. Hassi Mel is the oldest in the country, discovered back in 1957, but to this day, and the largest in terms of its reserves in Algeria. Two others were opened in 2004 and 2006.

The first place in the list of the largest deposits is occupied by North or South Pars, which is located within two countries at once - Qatar and Iran, as well as in the water area of ​​the Persian oil and gas basin and the Gulf. It was discovered in 1991 and currently its reserves exceed 270 billion cubic meters. The Persian Gulf is a world giant not only in terms of the presence of deposits, but also in terms of production in the Asian oil and gas region.

After the opening in 2006 of a new place Galkynysh in Turkmenistan, it took second place in the list of world leaders. It owns 210 billion cubic meters of the resource, the deposits of which are located within the Murghab oil and gas basin.

The third place belongs to the Russian Federation, namely the Urengoy region, confined to the West Siberian oil and gas basin. It was discovered in 1996, in 2016 its reserves amount to 10.2 trillion cubic meters.

The main areas of gas production in the world

Below is a map that reflects the geography of distribution of the largest gas fields throughout the globe. The main deposits of blue fuel are concentrated within the leading countries in terms of annual .

The largest mineral reserves are located within the following deposits on the planet:

• Gulf of Mexico and Alaska in the United States of America;
• in the Russian Federation, the southern and northern regions of Western Siberia, the territories Far East and Sakhalin, the shelves of two seas - the Barents and Kara;
• deposits located within Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia of the Persian Gulf;
• the southern regions of Turkmenistan, whose minerals are exported to three countries - Poland, Ukraine and Hungary;
• Algeria and Nigeria are the only sub-regions in Africa with natural gas reserves. The fuel here is of high quality, in which there is no high content of harmful impurities and slags;
• in the North Sea of ​​Norway. The volumes of natural gas deposits are considered the largest in Europe;
• on the lands of Canada there are several largest areas within the island of Newfoundland of the northern provinces, including the shelf of the Western Canadian Basin;
• in China, the main areas of gas production are concentrated in the Tari Basin

OPEC statistics indicate that with the growing consumption of blue fuel on the planet, the remaining reserves will only last for the next 65 years. In all state deposits, there are no more than 180 trillion cubic meters of combustible matter. More than 120 trillion are fuel reserves that have not yet been explored, since they lie at a very great depth in the earth's crust and are practically not available for global production.

Iran, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Algeria, Venezuela, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and Turkmenistan. What do this group of countries have in common? The answer is simple: huge explored reserves of minerals, the revenues from which generously fill the national budgets of these states, "blue gold" - natural gas.

World gas empires. Countries with significant natural gas reserves (EIA \ FranchExpert © 2012):

No. 1. Russian Federation .

In the post-Soviet space, Russia (Urengoyskoye field) and Turkmenistan have huge natural gas reserves, and also have significant natural gas fields of their own: Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan (Karachaganak field).

Russia's share in the global gas production market is more than 18% (1st place), the share of the world's proven natural gas reserves is 25% (of which 95% are in the Arctic). In terms of oil reserves, Russia's position is more modest: 5.3% of the world's oil reserves (8th place on the planet, of which 60% are in the Arctic) .

The Urengoy natural gas field is the 3rd in the world (total geological reserves - 16 trillion m³ of natural gas).
Location: Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug of the Tyumen Region of the Russian Federation.
Production is carried out by OOO Gazprom dobycha Urengoy (100% subsidiary of OAO Gazprom).

No. 2. Islamic Republic of Iran .

Islamic Republic of Iran :

More than 16% of the world's natural gas reserves. The main deposits are located on the shelf of the Persian Gulf and in the north-east of the country;
It is planned to build the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline by the end of 2014. Projects suspended in 2012 (under pressure from the US and its allies in Europe): gas supplies through Ukraine to the EU, extension of the existing gas pipeline (gas supplies to Armenia and Azerbaijan) through Turkey to Greece;
more than 10% of the world's proven oil reserves. 2nd place in oil production among OPEC countries. The largest supplier of oil to China;
Iran - largest economy Asia. In terms of GDP, it is second only to China, Japan, India, Turkey, Indonesia and South Korea;
there are restrictions on human rights, primarily related to religion. For example, in the system of government there is a special body - the Council of Guardians of the Constitution, which prohibits non-Muslims from holding the highest government posts, and members of parliament from drawing up bills that contradict Sharia;
According to the Iranian Constitution (Article 13), in addition to Islam, only 3 religions are recognized: Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism. Iran ranks second in the world (after China) in terms of the number of executions for serious crimes.

No. 3. Qatar .

Qatar - the pearl of the Persian Gulf :

3rd place in the world in terms of natural gas reserves, 6th exporter of natural gas in the world;
a major exporter of oil and oil products (OPEC member);
No. 1 country in the world in terms of “average per capita income” \ the richest state in the world;
form of government - absolute monarchy;
Qatari satellite television, Al Jazeera, is the leading media outlet in the Middle East.

No. 4. Saudi Arabia .

More than 25% of proven oil reserves (more than 260 billion barrels), 4th place in terms of natural gas reserves on Earth;
OPEC leader. The main regulator of world oil prices;
an active defender and lobbyist for the interests of Islam throughout the world. "Country of 2 mosques" (the two main holy cities of the Islamic world, Mecca and Medina);
absolute theocratic monarchy, welfare state;
is among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of funding armed forces;
a key ally of the United States in the Middle East and, at the same time, the birthplace of the former leader of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden. Diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and the Vatican were only established in 2007;
the law prohibits oral or written discussions of the existing political system, the use and sale of alcohol and drugs. criminal law is based on sharia; for theft - cutting off the brush, for extramarital sexual relations are punishable - lashes, for murder, blasphemy and "witchcraft" (prediction of the future, fortune-telling) - the death penalty.

No. 5. Turkmenistan .

Turkmenistan is the 5th state in the world in terms of natural gas reserves (according to some estimates, the 4th). Has the 2nd largest gas field in the world .

Briefly about Turkmenistan:

Huge reserves of natural gas (15-20 trillion cubic meters) and oil (1.5-2.0 billion tons) have turned Turkmenistan into an important exporter of fuel resources. Main buyers: Ukraine, Poland, Hungary;
the power of the current President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov is absolute. Turkmenistan retains one of the most repressive and authoritarian regimes in the world. © Human Rights Watch;
According to the Press Freedom Index, Turkmenistan is at the bottom of the list every year. © Reporters Without Borders

No. 6. United Arab Emirates .

6th in the world in terms of proven gas reserves (about 4% of the world's reserves \ proven reserves of natural gas - more than 214 trillion cubic feet). The main natural gas production sites are the emirate of Abu Dhabi: Abu al-Bukhush, Bab, Bu Khasa, Umm Shaif, Zakum. The Abu Dhabi National Company controls more than 90% of the country's gas reserves;
5th place in terms of proven oil reserves in the Middle East (No. 1 - Saudi Arabia, No. 2 - Iran, No. 3 - Iraq, No. 4 - Kuwait, No. 5 - Qatar, No. 6 - Oman);
8 - 10% (according to various estimates) of the world's oil reserves (66 billion barrels, most of it - the emirate of Abu Dhabi). The UAE is a member of OPEC and at the current level of oil production, the UAE's oil reserves will last for more than 100 years! ABU Dhabi National Company (ADNOC) controls oil industry countries. The main oil fields: the emirate of Abu Dhabi (Asab, Bab, Bu Khasa, Al-Zakum), the emirate of Dubai (Fallah, Fateh, Margham, Rashid), the emirate of Sharjah ("Mubarak" - not far from Abu Musa Island);
the leading economic center of the Middle East and the richest state on the planet. GDP per capita since the 70s. 20th century has grown more than 20 times! Main trading partners: Japan, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, South Korea. Fish consumption is one of the highest in the world - 140 kg/year per capita;
The UAE is included in the group of non-aligned countries and acts with a position of "absolute neutrality" (preservation of "equidistance" from the West and East).

No. 7. Nigeria .

Nigeria :

1st place in Africa in terms of explored reserves of natural gas (more than 5 trillion cubic meters), 7th place in the world - in terms of export volumes;
1st place in Africa in terms of oil exports (before the state collapse in 2011, Libya occupied the 1st place), 2nd place in Africa in terms of proven oil reserves (after Libya);
Nigeria is one of the main suppliers of oil to Western Europe and an important exporter of crude oil to the US, Brazil and India. Member of OPEC;
in terms of population - 7th place in the world and No. 1 - in Africa: more than 162 million people;
in 2nd place in the world in terms of the number of feature films released (inferior in the number of India, but bypasses the United States).

2012 © "EIA" Energy Information Administration. Reference to the source for a reprint of materials required

Natural gas production by the countries of the world (source - the free encyclopedia "Wikipedia" 2006-2011, including using the estimates of the CIA (USA) published in The World Factbook):