Countries by natural gas reserves. Gas and oil reserves
The lifting of sanctions on Iran will lead to the emergence of a new major gas seller on the market. The reserves of blue fuel in this country are huge. However, this is not the only country with large reserves of “blue fuel” in the world. Below is a list of the 10 countries with the largest gas reserves according to BP. Data on the level of proven gas reserves were published in BP's annual report in June 2015.
10. Algeria
Proven gas reserves– 4.5 trillion cubic meters. m.According to this indicator, the country ranks 2nd in Africa (after Nigeria) and 10th in the world, concentrating 2.5% of world reserves. Over 50% of natural gas reserves in Algeria - 2.3 trillion cubic meters. m - concentrated within the Hassi R’Mel deposit. The largest deposits, concentrated in the south and southeast of the country, include In Salah, In Amenas, Tin Fouye, Tabankort, Timimoun, Rhourde Nouss, Alrar.
State-owned mining company Sonatrach is developing the country's largest natural gas field, Hassi R'Mel. Foreign companies such as Total, BP, Shell operate in the country.
Sonatrach together with BP and Statoil (In Amenas Gas consortium) are developing the In Salah (maximum production level - 9 billion cubic meters per year) and In Amenas (9 billion cubic meters per year) fields in the central part and in the east of the country on the border with Libya.
LNG production in Algeria is carried out on 15 production lines installed at three plants and with a total capacity of 26.2 billion cubic meters. m per year. Two factories are located in the city of Arzev, one in the city of Skikda. The businesses are owned and operated by Sonatrach.
9. Nigeria
Nigeria ranks 1st in gas reserves in Africa and 9th in the world. Nigeria is also a member of OPEC.
However, Nigeria has long suffered from political instability, corruption, poor infrastructure and poor economic management.
Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from its complete dependence on the oil and gas sector, which accounts for 95% of foreign exchange earnings and 80% of government revenue.
Recently, the government of the country has been encouraging infrastructure development in the country by the private sector.
By 2010, the country became one of the leaders in the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG): the annual export volume amounted to 21.9 million tons
8. Venezuela
Proven reserves of natural gas are 5.6 trillion cubic meters. m. (2.9% of world reserves) – Venezuela is in 8th place in the world. Most natural gas reserves are associated gas, produced together with oil.
70% of the produced gas is used for the internal needs of the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA, 2% is processed into liquefied gas, 28% is sent for the needs of the national market.
The main gas fields in Venezuela are concentrated in the Norte de Paria region (north of Trinidad and Tobago) and in the Deltano platform (southeast of Trinidad and Tobago).
The gas pipeline network in Venezuela is underdeveloped, which is holding back the development of the sector as a whole. All major pipelines are owned and operated by PDVSA GAS.
7. UAE
The UAE ranks 4th in the Middle East in terms of proven natural gas reserves after Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The largest reserves are 5.6 trillion cubic meters. m - located in Abu Dhabi.
The reserves of the emirates of Sharjah, Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah are smaller: 283 billion cubic meters. m, 113 billion cubic meters. m and 34 billion cubic meters. m respectively. In Abu Dhabi, the Khuff reservoir of non-associated gas, located under the Umm Shaif and Abu Al Bukhush oil fields, is considered one of the largest in the world.
The UAE's first liquefied natural gas plant was built in 1977 on Das Island by ADGAS.
The plant processes associated natural gas from the Um Shaif, Nizhny Zakum and Bunduk oil fields.
6. Saudi Arabia
Control over oil and gas fields belongs to the state-owned Saudi Aramco (the largest oil company in the world).
According to available statistics, Saudi Arabia has 77 oil and gas fields (more than 1 thousand wells). At the same time, more than half of the country's oil reserves are concentrated in 8 oil and gas regions.
In plans to diversify its economy, Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to accelerating the pace of development of gas production.
The country plans to increase the supply of natural gas to the world market and its use as a raw material for petrochemical complexes operating on its territory.
Approximately 2/3 of all gas fields in Saudi Arabia are concentrated in the continental Ghawar region and in the Saffaniya and Zuluf offshore fields. They are mixed oil and gas fields.
Most of Saudi Arabia's mixed oil and gas fields explored in the 90s. last century, are located on oil fields where light oil is produced.
As for pure gas fields, which include El Mazalij, El Manjura, Shaden, Niban, etc. and which contain approximately a fifth of the country's national natural gas reserves, they are mainly associated with deep formations located under the Ghawar oil field.
Pure natural gas deposits have been explored in the “neutral zone” (Dorra field) and in the far north-west of the country in the Midian region.
5. USA
About 60% of gas reserves in the United States are concentrated in four states: Texas - 29.5%, Wyoming - 12.9%, Colorado - 8.5%, Oklahoma - 8.4%.
Louisiana (7.6% of reserves in the USA), New Mexico (5.7%), Arkansas (4.0%), Alaska (3.3%), Utah (2.7%), also have significant gas reserves. Pennsylvania (2.6%) and West Virginia (2.2%). The continental shelf, under the jurisdiction of the federal government, contains 4.6% of the country's gas reserves.
The main gas production companies in the United States are BP, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chesapeake. BP's main assets are located in New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado, ExxonMobil - in Texas and Oklahoma, ConocoPhillips - in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Oklahoma, Chesapeake - in Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Louisiana.
4.Turkmenistan
Natural gas is the backbone of Turkmenistan's economy, with the majority of government revenue coming from energy exports.
Turkmenistan, according to BP estimates, ranks 4th in the world in terms of proven gas reserves. In the Galkynysh field alone, in the east of the country, there are, according to local geologists, over 26 trillion cubic meters. m.
Ashgabat placed great hopes on the Nabucco gas pipeline. But this project actually died, and due to the fault of Turkmenistan itself, which was unable to guarantee that the future pipeline would be filled with its gas.
The state concern "Turkmengas" alone is developing more than 30 gas and gas condensate fields, including Dovletabad, Shatlyk, Malay, Kerpichli, Gazlydepe, Bagadzha, Garabil, Gurrukbil, a group of storehouses in the Central Karakum Desert and others.
3. Qatar
Qatar has the third largest natural gas reserves in the world after Russia and Iran.
Qatar operates 13 technological lines for the production of liquefied gas with a total capacity of more than 70 million tons per year. All factories are located in Ras Laffan. The first LNG plant was commissioned by Qatargas in 1996, and first exports began in 1997.
In LNG projects involving Qatar Petroleum and foreign oil and gas companies, 2 joint ventures have been established: Qatargas Operating Company Limited (Qatargas) and Ras Laffan Company Limited (RasGas).
63% of RasGas shares are owned by Qatar Pretroleum, 25% by the American company ExxonMobil, 5% by the Korean Kogas, 4% by the Japanese Itochu Corporation and 3% by the LNG Japan Corporation.
Qatar Petroleum controls 65% of Qatargas shares. The consortium also includes the French Total (20%), the American ExxonMobil (10%), and the Japanese Mitsui and Marubeni (2.5% each).
The country, due to its geographical location, has access to all three major regional gas markets: European, North American and Asian. More than 80% of the gas produced in Qatar is exported.
2. Russia
The gas industry is the most important budget-forming sector of the Russian economy.
Over 90% of natural gas is produced in Western Siberia, including 87% in the Yamalo-Nenets and 4% in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. The largest fields are located here: Urengoyskoye, Yamburgskoye, Zapolyarnoye, Medvezhye, etc. The industrial reserves of natural gas in this region account for more than 60% of the country’s total resources.
Among other gas producing territories, the Urals (Orenburg gas condensate field - more than 3% of production) and the Northern region (Vuktylskoye field) stand out. There are natural gas resources in the Lower Volga region (Astrakhan gas condensate field), in the North Caucasus (North Stavropol, Kubano-Priazovskoye fields), in the Far East (Ust-Vilyuiskoye, Tungor on Sakhalin Island).
The shelf waters of the Arctic and the Sea of Okhotsk are considered promising areas for gas production. Gas supergiants have been discovered in the Barents and Kara Seas - the Leningradskoye, Rusanovskoye, Shtokmanskoye fields.
To transport gas in Russia, a Unified Gas Supply System has been created, which includes developed fields, a network of gas pipelines (143 thousand km), compressor stations, underground storage facilities and other installations. There are large gas supply systems: Central, Volga, Ural, multi-line system Siberia-Center.
The Russian gas industry is dominated by OJSC Gazprom - the world's largest gas production structure, one of the country's most important natural monopolies, providing 94% of all Russian gas production.
1. Iran
The main deposits are located on the shelf of the Persian Gulf and in the northeast of the country.
The development of oil fields is carried out by the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC - National Iranian Oil Company).
Since the late 1990s, however, foreign investors have come to the oil industry (French Total and Elf Aquitaine, Malaysian Petronas, Italian Eni, China National Oil Company, as well as Belarusian Belneftekhim).
As a result of the sanctions imposed on Iran, foreign companies had to withdraw from this market, but now that an agreement has been reached on the Iranian nuclear program, both Iran and foreign energy companies are waiting for the speedy lifting of sanctions, which will allow companies to return to Iran and produce gas there.
Iran is currently preparing for the return of foreign countries to the market. Thus, Iran, preparing for negotiations with foreign investors, created a new standard agreement (integrated petroleum contract, IPC), taking into account both short-term and long-term interests of all parties.
Natural gas production in Iran will exceed 1.1 billion cubic meters. m per day by the end of 2017, the country’s authorities note.
According to BP, Iran's natural gas reserves are estimated at 34 trillion cubic meters. m, or 18.2% of the global reserves of this type of hydrocarbons. Fitch expects that due to the complexity of constructing gas facilities, Iran will not be able to begin exporting significant volumes of gas in the next 5 years.
NATURAL GAS RESERVES IN THE WORLD
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World proven reserves natural gas account for 208,4 trillion m3, and they should be enough for more than 63 of the year.
World potential reserves natural gas is approximately 290 trillion m 3.
According to expert estimates for 2011 104 Countries around the world have natural gas reserves. 15 leading countries:
It ranks first in the world in terms of proven natural gas reserves. Russia, whose reserves grew in 2011. by 0.45%, and amount to 47,5 trillion m3, or 21,4% global reserves.
In second place - Iran With 29,6 trillion m3 ( 15,9% ), on the third - Qatar from 25.3 trillion m 3 ( 12% ).
The top ten leading countries are Saudi Arabia, USA, Turkmenistan with approximately equal natural gas reserves (7.8; 7.7; 7.5 trillion m3), UAE(6.4 trillion m3), Nigeria (5,2), Venezuela (5,0) , Algeria (4,5).
If we talk about regions as a whole, the most significant is the concentration of gas in countries Near and Middle East, where more than 70 trillion m 3 of this raw material. The resources are especially large in Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iraq.
In countries Asia-Pacific leaders in natural gas reserves are Australia(3.1 trillion m3), China(3.03 trillion m3), Indonesia(3.01 trillion m3).
European Union has reserves 2,2 trillion m3. The leader among European countries is Norway with reserves of 2.0 trillion m3.
Ten largest gas fields in the world, billion m 3
The largest gas field - South Pars/North- is located in the territorial waters of Qatar and Iran. The gas reserves of this field are estimated at 13.4 trillion m3.
Ranked second in the world - Urengoy oil and gas condensate field– located in Russia, with total geological reserves of 16 trillion m3 and residual reserves of 10.2 trillion m3.
On the third place- the youngest deposit of the top ten Haynesville- discovered in the USA in 2008, its reserves amount to 7 trillion m3.
In addition to traditional natural gas reserves, there are huge reserves of natural gas in the world unconventional gas sources– coal bed methane, gas in bituminous shale (shale gas), gas in tight sandstones, gas hydrates.
Significant natural gas resources are concentrated in coal seams (coalbed methane).
Estimation of geological resources of coal bed methane, trillion m³:
Russia - 78
Australia - 22
Germany - 16
Ukraine - 8
Kazakhstan - 8
Poland - 3
TOTAL in the world: 240 trillion m3
Commercial production of coalbed methane began in the United States in the early 1980s.
Today the leaders in the production of methane from coal seams are USA. At the same time, methane extraction from coal deposits is carried out Australia, Canada, China and Colombia.
Russia has adopted the Kuzbass Methane program. Kuzbass can produce about 20 billion m³ of methane annually. Methane reserves in Kuzbass are estimated at 13 trillion m³. In 2010, the first field for the extraction of methane gas from the coal seams of the Kuzbass basin was launched on the Taldinskaya area.
Shale natural gas- natural gas produced from oil shale, which consists primarily of methane.
The world's shale gas reserves are 256 trillion m3.
Leading countries in shale natural gas reserves:
| China | 36.7 trillion cubic meters |
| USA | 24.4 trillion cubic meters |
| Argentina | 21.9 trillion cubic meters |
| Mexico | 19.3 trillion cubic meters |
| South Africa | 13.7 trillion cubic meters |
| Australia | 11.2 trillion cubic meters |
| Canada | 10.9 trillion cubic meters |
| Libya | 8.2 trillion cubic meters |
| Algeria | 6.5 trillion cubic meters |
| Brazil | 6.4 trillion cubic meters |
| Poland | 5.3 trillion cubic meters |
| France | 5.1 trillion cubic meters |
| Norway | 2.4 trillion cubic meters |
| Chile | 1.8 trillion cubic meters |
| India | 1.8 trillion cubic meters |
| Paraguay | 1.8 trillion cubic meters |
| Pakistan | 1.4 trillion cubic meters |
| Bolivia | 1.4 trillion cubic meters |
| Ukraine | 1.2 trillion cubic meters |
| Sweden | 1.2 trillion cubic meters |
Large-scale industrial production of shale gas was started by Devon Energy in the USA in the early 2000s at the Barnett Shale field, which began working in this field in 2002. drilled a horizontal well for the first time. Thanks to a sharp increase in its production, called the “gas revolution” in the media, in 2009 the United States became the world leader in gas production (745.3 billion cubic meters), with more than 40% coming from unconventional sources (coalbed methane and shale gas).
Gas hydrates are so-called solid solutions of methane in ice - crystalline compounds in which n water molecules are held around a gas with molecular weight M through hydrogen bonds. Taking into account the dependence of thermobaric conditions n = 6-17. Not only individual, but also mixed gas hydrates are known (with C 1 -C 6, C0 2, N 2). One volume of water binds 70-210 volumes of gas.
Gas hydrate deposits have been discovered in Russia, the USA, Canada, Japan, India, Panama, Brazil, Chile, West Africa, and New Zealand. And their reserves, according to the most conservative estimates, are not inferior to those of “classical” gas fields. And some experts believe that they exceed them by almost 20 thousand times, reaching the astronomical figure of 7.6 quintillion (quintillion is 10 to the eighteenth power) cubic meters. That is, if desired, literally every country will be able to provide itself with gas independently.
Today on Earth more than 220 gas hydrate deposits, which are available to most countries.
The largest of the gas hydrate deposits on the ground:
-Deep-sea depression off the coast of Costa Rica- one of the largest deposits in the world. Depth of occurrence - 3100-3400 m.
-Central American deep sea trench(Guatemala). Pacific Ocean. The depth of occurrence of hydrates is 2100-2700 m.
- Mexican area Central American deep-sea trench. Pacific Ocean. There are three deposits here: Mexico-1 (depth - 1950 m), Mexico-2 (3100 m) and Mexico-3 (2200 m).
- California fault(USA). Pacific Ocean. Rich deposits of gas hydrates have been discovered, which are formed with the help of deep-sea “asphalt volcanoes”, which spew not only oil, but also methane into the water.
- Pacific Trench, Oregon (USA). Pacific Ocean. Depth of occurrence - 2400 m.
-Sakhalin shelf, Sea of Okhotsk (Russia). In the area of the eastern coast of the island - in deep faults - the largest explored reserves of gas hydrates are concentrated - more than 50 deposits.
- Kuril ridge, Sea of Okhotsk (Russia). The first searches for hydrate-containing deposits in the USSR were carried out here. To date, gas hydrate resources in this area of the Sea of Okhotsk are estimated at 87 trillion cubic meters. Depth of occurrence - 3500 m.
- Coast of Japan. By 2004, geophysicists found more than 18 deposits off the coast of the Japanese Islands.
- Nankai Trough in the Sea of Japan - one of the very first explored gas hydrate deposits in the world, located at a depth of over 600 m. Predicted gas reserves in hydrates range from 4 to 20 trillion cubic meters.
-Deep Sea Peruvian Trench, Pacific Ocean. Here, gas hydrates are located at a depth of over 6000 m, the length of the field exceeds 1500 km.
- Gulf of Mexico, coast of Texas and Louisiana (USA). Atlantic Ocean. Gas hydrate reserves have been explored in the oil-bearing areas of the Green Canyon, Mississippi Submarine Canyon and Flower Garden Banks National Park - this is a unique chain of reefs.
-Blake Submarine Plateau, Atlantic Ocean. One of the largest deposits in the Atlantic. Depth of occurrence - 400 m, thickness of the gas-bearing layer - 200 m.
-Mud underwater volcano Hakon Mosby(Norway). Arctic Ocean. Gas hydrates, discovered back in 1990, lie at a depth of 250-10-00 m.
-Niger Delta shelf(Nigeria) in the Atlantic Ocean is the richest oil region in Africa. It is also called the country of oil rivers.
- Black Sea(Russia). There are about 15 gas hydrate deposits at the bottom of the Black Sea. The predicted volume is 20-25 trillion cubic meters.
- Caspian Sea(Russia). Here, gas hydrate deposits were discovered at the smallest depth of 300-480 m.
- Lake Baikal(Russia). The existence of gas hydrates at the bottom of Lake Baikal has been known for a long time based on indirect data. In 2001, during the implementation of the international project “Baikal-drilling,” gas hydrates were first discovered in the surface layer of bottom sediments, and last year the largest gas hydrate fields were found in the area of the underwater mud volcano of St. Petersburg.
- Anaximander Seamounts, Mediterranean Sea. Gas hydrates occur at a depth of 0.3-1.5 km. As scientists have established, the deposits resemble a layer cake of hydrates and ash sediments of volcanic origin, which complicates the development of the deposit.
-Coast of the Kula region(Türkiye), Mediterranean Sea. Here, gas hydrates are formed with the participation of numerous mud volcanoes.
-Mackenzie Delta region(Canada), Arctic Ocean. The northernmost of all explored deposits.
98% of gas hydrate reserves are dispersed in the waters of the World Ocean at a depth of up to 700 m in bottom sedimentary rocks, and only 2% in the coastal continental zone.
Despite their colossal resources, the extraction of gas hydrate deposits has still practically not begun.
For the first time, Canadian and Japanese scientists were able to achieve sustainable gas release from a gas hydrate deposit.. Behind the scientific formulation lies a revolutionary event: in fact, we are talking about the emergence of a new technology for industrial gas production.
The well was drilled in a layer of permafrost in the far north of Canada, on the shores of the Beaufort Sea, ITAR-TASS reports with reference to the Canadian news agency Postmedia News. The experiment cost 48 million Canadian dollars (47.4 million US dollars). And although a stable gas output was only maintained for six days, we can already say that this is a real breakthrough in the field of “blue fuel” production.
In the light of the small gas revolution that took place in Canada, they look completely different and battles surrounding the presence of the world's largest countries in the Arctic and Antarctic, where huge reserves of gas hydrates are concentrated.
A working well is a harbinger of the fact that we need to hurry up with the development of our Arctic coast. Because the struggle for gas hydrate deposits in the Arctic and Antarctic will now definitely intensify, Vagif Kerimov is sure.
Scientists are widely discussing the hypothesis of the possible release of hydrated methane as temperatures rise due to global warming. The fact is that methane is a greenhouse gas, and its release will cause further warming and, accordingly, even greater release of methane. It will no longer be possible to stop this process, like a bullet fired from a gun. The result is sudden, self-reinforcing global warming in less than a human lifetime. For this reason, predictions of the future Armageddon are also associated with gas hydrates. Perhaps such unexpected melting of gas hydrates led to sharp changes in the ocean and atmosphere in the Earth’s past.
Most notable among these events is the mass “Permian extinction” about 251 million years ago. Then, perhaps, in just a few years, 96% of all marine species, 70% of terrestrial vertebrates, 83% of insect species and even many microorganisms disappeared forever from the face of our planet.
However, many scientists do not share the theory about the greenhouse nature of atmospheric warming. But no one doubts that if we learn to extract hydrated methane, this will provide humanity with energy for hundreds of years to come.
Gas hydrates look like real ice. But the ice is very unusual. It consists almost entirely of gas - mainly methane with small admixtures of ethane and propane. That is, the composition is identical to “ordinary” natural gas. It’s just that it’s packaged extremely compactly. From one cubic meter of gas hydrates, up to 200 cubic meters of gas are obtained. For this reason, the reserves of gas in hydrates in the world are so huge. That is why they burn so well - with a clean, transparent, slightly bluish flame.
Strictly speaking, gas hydrates are solid solutions of methane or other gas (for example, carbon dioxide) in water. Gas hydrates can exist in large quantities only at high pressures and low temperatures, which occurs at the bottom of the oceans and in the permafrost zone. When the pressure decreases, methane is released from the gas hydrate - similar to how gas bubbles are released when uncorking a bottle of sparkling water. Well, gas hydrates are like frozen soda.
The problem is essentially that until now there is no reliable and economically feasible technology for methane production from hydrates. For example, they tried to melt them with a hot solution or create a vacuum in the well. But these methods have so far been ineffective.
NATURAL GAS RESERVES IN THE WORLD - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "NATURAL GAS RESERVES IN THE WORLD" 2017, 2018.
We present to your attention a list of states that produce and export natural gas in huge quantities.
10. Algeria. Gas reserves: 4.5 trillion cubic meters
Algeria ranks 10th in world gas production. The amount of gas in this North African country is 2.5% of world reserves. And half of this number is mined at the Hassi R’Mei deposit, located in the southeast of the country. Gas producing companies such as Total and Shell have been operating in this country for decades. Three plants with 15 production lines are engaged in gas production. Two of them are located in the city of Arzev and one in the city of Skikda.
9. Nigeria. Gas reserves: 5.1 trillion cubic meters
This country ranks first in gas production on the African continent. Also, it is a member of OPEC. And this despite the fact that Nigeria has a high level of corruption, political instability, a weak economy and poorly developed infrastructure. Nigeria is a very gas-dependent country, with profits from its exports accounting for 95% of its foreign exchange earnings. In 2010, Nigeria became a leading exporter of liquefied natural gas. After all, the volume of this exported natural resource is 21.9 million tons.
8. Venezuela. Gas reserves: 5.6 trillion cubic meters
This country's gas reserves account for 2.9% of the world's. But most of them are gas associated with oil. Most of the deposits are located in Norte De Pario (an area north of Trinidad and Tobago). But the gas sector in Venezuela is not very developed, which is holding back its development. The main gas pipelines are owned by PDVSA GAS.
7. UAE. Gas reserves: 6.1 trillion cubic meters
Most of this country's gas reserves are located in its capital, Dubai. Oil fields are located there and there is a Khuff gas reserve. In 1977, the first liquefied gas plant was built in the UAE by ADGAS. Currently, it is engaged in processing natural gas from all oil fields of the country.
6. Saudi Arabia. Gas reserves: 8.2 trillion cubic meters
All oil and gas fields belong to the only state-owned company in the country - Saudi Aramco. It is a monopolist in this area. In total, there are more than 70 deposits in Saudi Arabia, located in 8 regions of the country. Currently, gas production is accelerating. This is due to economic diversification. The country, which is one of the leaders in the production of this natural resource, plans to increase gas supply to the world market. As for mixed oil and gas fields, found back in the late 20th century, they are located in the oil fields of Kirkuk. Pure deposits, constituting 1/5 of the country's total reserves, are located in the Gavar oil field.
5. USA. Gas reserves: 9.8 trillion cubic meters
More than half of this country's gas reserves are located in just four states: Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and Oklahoma. Also, about 5% of mineral resources are taken from the continental shelf, which is under the jurisdiction of the US government. The main gas producing companies of the country, which occupies the middle of the top leaders in gas production, are: BP, ExxonMobil.
4. Turkmenistan. Gas reserves: 17.5 trillion cubic meters
Natural gas is an integral part of the economy of Turkmenistan, which is one of the leaders in the production of this mineral. After all, its export consumes most of the country’s reserves. All gas is produced in one field - Galkynysh. According to experts, it contains more than 25 trillion cubic meters. Several years ago, plans included a project to build the Nabucco pipe. But he died due to the fault of the country's government. And high hopes were placed on him.
3. Qatar. Gas reserves: 24.5 trillion cubic meters
All liquefied gas production plants are located in one city in Qatar - Ras Laffan. The first plant was built in 1996, and gas supplies began a year later. Almost 85% of the total gas produced is supplied to European, Asian and North American markets. This became possible thanks to the favorable geographical location of the country, which took bronze in the ranking of leading states in gas production.
2. Russia. Gas reserves: 32.6 trillion cubic meters
Gas export is the most important part of the economy of Russia - the leader in production in this area. The natural resource is mined in Western Siberia (Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug), the Urals, the Lower Volga region and the North Caucasus. Gas reserves account for more than 60% of all Russian resources. The natural resource is transported through the Unified Gas Supply System and a network of gas pipelines more than 140 thousand km long. The gas producer is the monopolist Gazprom, which provides 95% of the natural resource from all production in the country.
1. Iran. Gas reserves: 34 trillion cubic meters
All fields are located in the north of the country, which ranks first in gas production in the world, and on the shelf near the Persian Gulf. Foreign (French, Chinese, Belarusian) investors who came to the country back in the late 90s are working on the extraction of natural resources. True, they stopped their activities for a time when sanctions were introduced against Iran, but it seems that they can now return to the market again. The country's authorities plan to increase gas production to 1 billion cubic meters per day by 2017. Iran's total reserves account for 18% of the world's reserves.
The lifting of sanctions on Iran will lead to the emergence of a new major gas seller on the market. The reserves of blue fuel in this country are huge. However, this is not the only country with large reserves of “blue fuel” in the world. Below is a list of the 10 countries with the largest gas reserves according to BP. Data on the level of proven gas reserves were published in BP's annual report in June 2015.
10. Algeria
Proven gas reserves– 4.5 trillion cubic meters. m.According to this indicator, the country ranks 2nd in Africa (after Nigeria) and 10th in the world, concentrating 2.5% of world reserves. Over 50% of natural gas reserves in Algeria - 2.3 trillion cubic meters. m - concentrated within the Hassi R’Mel deposit. The largest deposits, concentrated in the south and southeast of the country, include In Salah, In Amenas, Tin Fouye, Tabankort, Timimoun, Rhourde Nouss, Alrar.
State-owned mining company Sonatrach is developing the country's largest natural gas field, Hassi R'Mel. Foreign companies such as Total, BP, Shell operate in the country.
Sonatrach together with BP and Statoil (In Amenas Gas consortium) are developing the In Salah (maximum production level - 9 billion cubic meters per year) and In Amenas (9 billion cubic meters per year) fields in the central part and in the east of the country on the border with Libya.
LNG production in Algeria is carried out on 15 production lines installed at three plants and with a total capacity of 26.2 billion cubic meters. m per year. Two factories are located in the city of Arzev, one in the city of Skikda. The businesses are owned and operated by Sonatrach.
9. Nigeria
Nigeria ranks 1st in gas reserves in Africa and 9th in the world. Nigeria is also a member of OPEC.
However, Nigeria has long suffered from political instability, corruption, poor infrastructure and poor economic management.
Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from its complete dependence on the oil and gas sector, which accounts for 95% of foreign exchange earnings and 80% of government revenue.
Recently, the government of the country has been encouraging infrastructure development in the country by the private sector.
By 2010, the country became one of the leaders in the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG): the annual export volume amounted to 21.9 million tons
8. Venezuela
Proven reserves of natural gas are 5.6 trillion cubic meters. m. (2.9% of world reserves) – Venezuela is in 8th place in the world. Most natural gas reserves are associated gas, produced together with oil.
70% of the produced gas is used for the internal needs of the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA, 2% is processed into liquefied gas, 28% is sent for the needs of the national market.
The main gas fields in Venezuela are concentrated in the Norte de Paria region (north of Trinidad and Tobago) and in the Deltano platform (southeast of Trinidad and Tobago).
The gas pipeline network in Venezuela is underdeveloped, which is holding back the development of the sector as a whole. All major pipelines are owned and operated by PDVSA GAS.
7. UAE
The UAE ranks 4th in the Middle East in terms of proven natural gas reserves after Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The largest reserves are 5.6 trillion cubic meters. m - located in Abu Dhabi.
The reserves of the emirates of Sharjah, Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah are smaller: 283 billion cubic meters. m, 113 billion cubic meters. m and 34 billion cubic meters. m respectively. In Abu Dhabi, the Khuff reservoir of non-associated gas, located under the Umm Shaif and Abu Al Bukhush oil fields, is considered one of the largest in the world.
The UAE's first liquefied natural gas plant was built in 1977 on Das Island by ADGAS.
The plant processes associated natural gas from the Um Shaif, Nizhny Zakum and Bunduk oil fields.
6. Saudi Arabia
Control over oil and gas fields belongs to the state-owned Saudi Aramco (the largest oil company in the world).
According to available statistics, Saudi Arabia has 77 oil and gas fields (more than 1 thousand wells). At the same time, more than half of the country's oil reserves are concentrated in 8 oil and gas regions.
In plans to diversify its economy, Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to accelerating the pace of development of gas production.
The country plans to increase the supply of natural gas to the world market and its use as a raw material for petrochemical complexes operating on its territory.
Approximately 2/3 of all gas fields in Saudi Arabia are concentrated in the continental Ghawar region and in the Saffaniya and Zuluf offshore fields. They are mixed oil and gas fields.
Most of Saudi Arabia's mixed oil and gas fields explored in the 90s. last century, are located on oil fields where light oil is produced.
As for pure gas fields, which include El Mazalij, El Manjura, Shaden, Niban, etc. and which contain approximately a fifth of the country's national natural gas reserves, they are mainly associated with deep formations located under the Ghawar oil field.
Pure natural gas deposits have been explored in the “neutral zone” (Dorra field) and in the far north-west of the country in the Midian region.
5. USA
About 60% of gas reserves in the United States are concentrated in four states: Texas - 29.5%, Wyoming - 12.9%, Colorado - 8.5%, Oklahoma - 8.4%.
Louisiana (7.6% of reserves in the USA), New Mexico (5.7%), Arkansas (4.0%), Alaska (3.3%), Utah (2.7%), also have significant gas reserves. Pennsylvania (2.6%) and West Virginia (2.2%). The continental shelf, under the jurisdiction of the federal government, contains 4.6% of the country's gas reserves.
The main gas production companies in the United States are BP, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chesapeake. BP's main assets are located in New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado, ExxonMobil - in Texas and Oklahoma, ConocoPhillips - in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Oklahoma, Chesapeake - in Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Louisiana.
4.Turkmenistan
Natural gas is the backbone of Turkmenistan's economy, with the majority of government revenue coming from energy exports.
Turkmenistan, according to BP estimates, ranks 4th in the world in terms of proven gas reserves. In the Galkynysh field alone, in the east of the country, there are, according to local geologists, over 26 trillion cubic meters. m.
Ashgabat placed great hopes on the Nabucco gas pipeline. But this project actually died, and due to the fault of Turkmenistan itself, which was unable to guarantee that the future pipeline would be filled with its gas.
The state concern "Turkmengas" alone is developing more than 30 gas and gas condensate fields, including Dovletabad, Shatlyk, Malay, Kerpichli, Gazlydepe, Bagadzha, Garabil, Gurrukbil, a group of storehouses in the Central Karakum Desert and others.
3. Qatar
Qatar has the third largest natural gas reserves in the world after Russia and Iran.
Qatar operates 13 technological lines for the production of liquefied gas with a total capacity of more than 70 million tons per year. All factories are located in Ras Laffan. The first LNG plant was commissioned by Qatargas in 1996, and first exports began in 1997.
In LNG projects involving Qatar Petroleum and foreign oil and gas companies, 2 joint ventures have been established: Qatargas Operating Company Limited (Qatargas) and Ras Laffan Company Limited (RasGas).
63% of RasGas shares are owned by Qatar Pretroleum, 25% by the American company ExxonMobil, 5% by the Korean Kogas, 4% by the Japanese Itochu Corporation and 3% by the LNG Japan Corporation.
Qatar Petroleum controls 65% of Qatargas shares. The consortium also includes the French Total (20%), the American ExxonMobil (10%), and the Japanese Mitsui and Marubeni (2.5% each).
The country, due to its geographical location, has access to all three major regional gas markets: European, North American and Asian. More than 80% of the gas produced in Qatar is exported.
2. Russia
The gas industry is the most important budget-forming sector of the Russian economy.
Over 90% of natural gas is produced in Western Siberia, including 87% in the Yamalo-Nenets and 4% in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. The largest fields are located here: Urengoyskoye, Yamburgskoye, Zapolyarnoye, Medvezhye, etc. The industrial reserves of natural gas in this region account for more than 60% of the country’s total resources.
Among other gas producing territories, the Urals (Orenburg gas condensate field - more than 3% of production) and the Northern region (Vuktylskoye field) stand out. There are natural gas resources in the Lower Volga region (Astrakhan gas condensate field), in the North Caucasus (North Stavropol, Kubano-Priazovskoye fields), in the Far East (Ust-Vilyuiskoye, Tungor on Sakhalin Island).
The shelf waters of the Arctic and the Sea of Okhotsk are considered promising areas for gas production. Gas supergiants have been discovered in the Barents and Kara Seas - the Leningradskoye, Rusanovskoye, Shtokmanskoye fields.
To transport gas in Russia, a Unified Gas Supply System has been created, which includes developed fields, a network of gas pipelines (143 thousand km), compressor stations, underground storage facilities and other installations. There are large gas supply systems: Central, Volga, Ural, multi-line system Siberia-Center.
The Russian gas industry is dominated by OJSC Gazprom - the world's largest gas production structure, one of the country's most important natural monopolies, providing 94% of all Russian gas production.
1. Iran
The main deposits are located on the shelf of the Persian Gulf and in the northeast of the country.
The development of oil fields is carried out by the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC - National Iranian Oil Company).
Since the late 1990s, however, foreign investors have come to the oil industry (French Total and Elf Aquitaine, Malaysian Petronas, Italian Eni, China National Oil Company, as well as Belarusian Belneftekhim).
As a result of the sanctions imposed on Iran, foreign companies had to withdraw from this market, but now that an agreement has been reached on the Iranian nuclear program, both Iran and foreign energy companies are waiting for the speedy lifting of sanctions, which will allow companies to return to Iran and produce gas there.
Iran is currently preparing for the return of foreign countries to the market. Thus, Iran, preparing for negotiations with foreign investors, created a new standard agreement (integrated petroleum contract, IPC), taking into account both short-term and long-term interests of all parties.
Natural gas production in Iran will exceed 1.1 billion cubic meters. m per day by the end of 2017, the country’s authorities note.
According to BP, Iran's natural gas reserves are estimated at 34 trillion cubic meters. m, or 18.2% of the global reserves of this type of hydrocarbons. Fitch expects that due to the complexity of constructing gas facilities, Iran will not be able to begin exporting significant volumes of gas in the next 5 years.
At the same time, reserves as of December 31, 2013 increased by 1.5% compared to the end of 2012, Eni calculated.
Iran ranks second in gas reserves with 16.7% of all world reserves, with 33.948 trillion cubic meters. m, third - with 24.936 trillion cubic meters. m. In fourth place by a wide margin is Turkmenistan, where there are 9.967 trillion cubic meters. m of gas reserves.
Russia ranks second in the world in natural gas production after the United States, producing 19.2% of all global production, the study says. Production as of December 31, 2013 in Russia increased by 2% compared to the end of 2012, to 657.66 billion cubic meters. m, calculated in Eni. In the USA, production amounted to 673.51 billion cubic meters. m (19.7% of world production).
Oil reserves
In terms of oil reserves, Russia ranks eighth with 4.8% of world reserves after Venezuela (18%), (16.2%), Canada (10.4%), Iran (9.5%), Iraq (8.5%). ), Kuwait (6.3%) and the UAE (5.9%). Russia has 80 billion barrels of reserves; reserves have not changed compared to 2012.
Russia also ranks second in the world in oil production (after Saudi Arabia) - 12.5% of world production. At the end of 2013, oil production increased by 1.4%, to 10.877 million barrels per day. In Saudi Arabia, production reached 11.566 million barrels (13.2% of world production).
Gas export
Russia ranks first in the world in gas exports. The Russian Federation exported 206.53 billion cubic meters at the end of 2013. m, the report says. This figure is 9% more than in 2012.
Which took second place, exported 128.08 billion cubic meters. m of gas in 2013. Its exports grew by 1.7%.
Third place is occupied by Norway, which decreased exports in 2013 by 6.5% compared to 2012, to 103.77 billion cubic meters. m.