World Natural Gas Reserves PDF

**World Natural Gas Reserves** When the world today is constantly looking for alternative energy, the **countries with the highest natural gas reserves** are catering to most of the world's natural gas needs. Almost two-thirds of the world's total proven natural gas reserves exist in the top ten co...

**World Natural Gas Reserves** When the world today is constantly looking for alternative energy, the **countries with the highest natural gas reserves** are catering to most of the world's natural gas needs. Almost two-thirds of the world's total proven natural gas reserves exist in the top ten countries with the highest reserves.  Globally consumption has risen by 78 billion cubic meters  or by  rate of 2% in 2019, which is significantly lower than the exponential rise we encountered in 2018 of over 5%. US and China were the biggest consumers in this category.  However, with the current consumption rate, natural gas sources are likely to be depleted in the US in the next 90 years. That poses quite a difficult situation for our future generation. The rate at which the demand seem to rise, by 2035 demand for natural gas might stand at almost a double at what it stands at today. This means even more pressure on the countries with highest natural gas reserves to produce enough gas to meet the world demands.  **Russia** [[Russia]](https://www.britannica.com/place/Russia) has the largest natural gas reserves in the world (some 47 tcm \[1,680 tcf\]), and it periodically changes place with the United States as the world's largest or second largest producer. Some of the world's largest gas fields are in Russia, in a region of West [[Siberia]](https://www.britannica.com/place/Siberia) east of the [[Gulf of Ob]](https://www.britannica.com/place/Gulf-of-Ob) on the [[Arctic Circle]](https://www.britannica.com/place/Arctic-Circle). The world's second largest gas field is Urengoy, which was discovered there in 1966 and was estimated to have initial reserves as great as 8.1 tcm (286 tcf). Roughly three-quarters of this gas is found in the shallowest [[reservoir]](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/reservoir), 1,100 to 1,250 metres (3,600 to 4,100 feet) deep, which is Late [[Cretaceous]](https://www.britannica.com/science/Cretaceous-Period) in age (about 66 million to 100.5 million years old). In all, Urengoy has 15 separate reservoirs, some in Lower Cretaceous rocks (approximately 100.5 million to 145 million years old). The deepest is a [[gas condensate]](https://www.britannica.com/science/liquefied-petroleum-gas) zone in Upper [[Jurassic]](https://www.britannica.com/science/Jurassic-Period) strata (about 145 million to 163.5 million years old). Urengoy began production in 1978, and, though its output has declined over its peak years, it still exceeds the production from any other gas field in the world. Yamburg, Russia's second largest gas field, was discovered north of the Arctic Circle and north of Urengoy. Its original reserves were estimated at 4.7 tcm (166 tcf) of gas. Development of Yamburg began in the early 1980s. [[Orenburg]](https://www.britannica.com/place/Orenburg-oblast-Russia), discovered in the Volga-Urals region in 1967, is the largest Russian gas field outside West Siberia. It had initial reserves of 1.8 tcm (64 tcf) of gas and began production in 1974. **North America** The [[United States]](https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States) has proven natural gas reserves of 9.7 tcm (341 tcf). Its largest gas field, the [[Marcellus Shale]](https://www.britannica.com/science/Marcellus-Shale-basin), may have up to 14 tcm (500 tcf) according to some estimates. Spanning Pennsylvania, Ohio, [[West Virginia]](https://www.britannica.com/place/West-Virginia), [[New York]](https://www.britannica.com/place/New-York-state), and small parts of neighbouring states and producing more than 80.3 bcm (2,836 bcf) a year, this field is the largest source of natural gas in the United States and is one of the largest gas fields in the world. Hugoton was discovered in 1927 in [[Kansas]](https://www.britannica.com/place/Kansas) and was found to extend through the [[Oklahoma]](https://www.britannica.com/place/Oklahoma-state) and [[Texas]](https://www.britannica.com/place/Texas-state) panhandles. Hugoton has an estimated ultimate recovery of 1.5 tcm (53 tcf), of which some 65 percent has been produced. More than 10,000 wells have been drilled in this [[extensive]](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/extensive) field, which produces from a series of Permian [[limestones]](https://www.britannica.com/science/limestone) and [[dolomites]](https://www.britannica.com/science/dolomite-mineral). The gas accumulations are stratigraphically controlled by variations in lithology. The productive area extends along a 400-km (250-mile) trend. [[Canada]](https://www.britannica.com/place/Canada) has an estimated 2.1 tcm (73 tcf) of proven natural gas reserves. Its undiscovered resource potential is almost equal to that of the United States. One of the largest gas fields is Elmworth, discovered in [[Alberta]](https://www.britannica.com/place/Alberta-province) in 1976. Elmworth contained some 560 bcm (20 tcf) of gas in a [[Cretaceous]](https://www.britannica.com/science/Cretaceous-Period) [[sandstone]](https://www.britannica.com/science/sandstone) reservoir. **Middle East** There is an enormous [[gas]](https://www.britannica.com/science/gas-state-of-matter) potential in the [[Middle East]](https://www.britannica.com/place/Middle-East) associated with the major oil fields in the [[Arabian-Iranian basin]](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Arabian-Iranian-sedimentary-basin). The [[Permian]](https://www.britannica.com/science/Permian-Period) Khuff formation underlies most of the region and is an important gas-bearing horizon. Indeed, it forms the [[reservoir]](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/reservoir) of the world's largest nonassociated natural gas field, the supergiant North Field of offshore [[Qatar]](https://www.britannica.com/place/Qatar) and South Pars of offshore [[Iran]](https://www.britannica.com/place/Iran), which is estimated to contain more than 28 tcm (1,000 tcf) of reserves. On the basis of such reserves, Iran and Qatar have the second and third largest natural gas reserves in the world, behind [[Russia]](https://www.britannica.com/place/Russia). **Exercise 1. Переведи письменно на русский язык абзац о России.** **Exercise 2. Ответь, верны ли следующие утверждения (true / false) с доказательством из текста (абзац и строка):** ##### *1. Which countries have the largest natural gas reserves in the world?* **A** Brazil **B** **Iran** **C** Canada **D** **Qatar** ***E*** **Russia** ##### ***2.** What has been a significant trend in global natural gas consumption?* **A US and China as biggest consumers** **B** Decrease in natural gas reserves **CIncrease by 78 billion cubic meters in 2019** **D** Immediate stop in consumption ##### *3. What are some characteristics of the Urengoy gas field in Russia?* **A**Found in the Middle East **B** **Located in West Siberia** **C** Discovered after 2000 ***D*** **Contains Late Cretaceous reservoirs** ##### ***4.** Which formations or areas have large natural gas fields outside of Russia?* **A**Gulf of Ob **BNorth Field of Qatar** **C** **Marcellus Shale** **D** Volga-Urals region ##### *5. How does the natural gas reserve situation impact future generations?* **A** **Reserves could be depleted in 90 years** **B** **Demand may double by 2035** **C**Demand will decrease significantly **D** Reserves will last forever