Petroleum – Oil and Natural Gas
Natural Gas: Oil Byproduct, Valuable Resource
Natural-gas use is growing across all economic sectors. Natural gas burns cleaner than oil or coal, and this environmental benefit has encouraged its use. While decades ago natural gas was seen as an unwanted byproduct of oil and may have been wasted, its value has been recognized today. Most natural gas is distributed by pipelines, which is a limiting factor for remote resources that are not near the major consuming markets. But there is considerable development of technology to convert natural gas to liquids to enable more widespread transportation.
For more information on shale gas and horizontal drilling, see Modern Shale Gas: A Primer from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Largest Natural Gas Reserves by Country – 1 January 2009
| Country | Reserves (Trillion Cubic Feet) | Percent of World Total |
|---|---|---|
| Russia | 1,680.0 | 26.9 |
| Iran | 991.6 | 15.9 |
| Qatar | 891.9 | 14.3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 258.5 | 4.1 |
| United States | 237.7 | 3.8 |
| United Arab Emirates | 214.4 | 3.4 |
| Nigeria | 184.2 | 2.9 |
| Venezuela | 170.9 | 2.7 |
| Algeria | 159.0 | 2.5 |
| Iraq | 111.9 | 1.8 |
| Indonesia | 106.0 | 1.7 |
| Turkmenistan | 94.0 | 1.5 |
| Kazakhstan | 85.0 | 1.4 |
| Malaysia | 83.0 | 1.3 |
| Norway | 81.7 | 1.3 |
| China | 80.0 | 1.2 |
| Uzbekistan | 65.0 | 1.0 |
| Kuwait | 63.4 | 1.0 |
| Egypt | 58.5 | 0.9 |
| Canada | 57.9 | 0.9 |
| Top 20 Countries | 5,674.6 | 90.7 |
| Rest of World | 579.8 | 9.3 |
| World | 6,254.4 | 100.0 |
| Source:Oil & Gas Journal, Oil & Gas Journal, Vol. 106.48 (December 22, 2008). | ||
