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Business Insider: Where are the world’s largest natural gas reserves?

GlobalPost

Engineers at work on the drilling platform of a shale fracking platform. As unconventional sources of natural gas such as shale become more abundant and natural gas reserves are more easily accessed, gas prices will fall.

Matthew Lloyd

Unconventional gas reserves, including shale gas and coal seam methane, are now at least as abundant as conventional reserves, according to the International Energy Agency. 

It is also getting cheaper and easier to exploit previously inaccessible resources. The result has been a long decline in natural gas prices.

Those low prices aren't good news for everybody. Major natural gas exporters, some of whom have made significant capital investment to exploit gas reserves, will see lower profits and less government revenue. For countries whose economies depend heavily on gas exports, low prices could put pressure on their finances.

The countries in the following list of natural gas exporters are ranked by natural gas rents as a percentage of GDP. Natural gas rent is the difference between the value of natural gas production at world prices and total costs of production. Data is from 2010 unless otherwise noted.

#21: Canada

Natural gas exports: 92.4 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 0.3 percent of GDP

Percentage of proven reserves: 0.9 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#20: Australia

Natural gas exports: 25.36 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 0.7 percent of GDP

Percentage of proven reserves: 1.6 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#19: Indonesia

Natural gas exports: 41.25 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 0.9 percent of GDP 

Percentage of proven reserves: 1.6 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#18: Netherlands

Natural gas exports: 53.33 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 1.1 percent of GDP

Percentage of proven reserves: 0.6 percent 

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#17: Nigeria

Natural gas exports: 24.02 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 2.2 percent of GDP

Percentage of proven reserves: 2.8 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#16: Kazakhstan

Natural gas exports: 11.96 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 2.7 percent of GDP

Percentage of proven reserves: 1 percent 

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#15: Norway

Natural gas exports: 100.59 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 2.9 percent of GDP

Percentage of proven reserves: 1.1 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#14: Yemen

Natural gas exports: 5.48 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 3 percent of GDP

Percentage of proven reserves: 0.3 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#13: Russia

Natural gas exports: 199.85 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 3.6 percent of GDP

Percentage of proven reserves: 23.9 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#12: Azerbaijan

Natural gas exports: 6.45 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 3.9 percent of GDP

Percentage of proven reserves: 0.7 percent 

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#11: Malaysia

Natural gas exports: 31.99 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 3.9 percent of GDP

Percentage of proven reserves: 1.3 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#10: Egypt

Natural gas exports: 15.17 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 3.9 percent of GDP 

Percentage of proven reserves: 1.2 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#9: Iran

Natural gas exports: 8.42 percent billion m3

Natural gas rents: 6.8 percent of GDP (2009)

Percentage of proven reserves: 15.8 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#8: Oman

Natural gas exports: 11.49 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 7.6 percent of GDP

Percentage of proven reserves: 0.4 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#7: Algeria

Natural gas exports: 55.79 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 7.8 percent of GDP 

Percentage of proven reserves: 2.4 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#6: Bolivia

Natural gas exports: 11.65 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 9.0 percent of GDP

Percentage of proven reserves: 0.2 percent 

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#5: Qatar

Natural gas exports: 94.9 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 14.5 percent of GDP (2009)

Percentage of proven reserves: 13.5 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#4: Brunei Darussalam

Natural gas exports: 8.63 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 18 percent of GDP (2009)

Percentage of proven reserves: 0.2 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#3: Uzbekistan

Natural gas exports: 13.56 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 18.1 percent of GDP

Percentage of proven reserves: 0.6 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#2: Turkmenistan

Natural gas exports: 19.73 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 24.2 percent of GDP

Percentage of proven reserves: 4.3%

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

#1: Trinidad and Tobago

Natural gas exports: 20.38 billion m3

Natural gas rents: 25.8 percent of GDP

Percentage of proven reserves: 0.2 percent

Sources: BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, World Bank

That's where the gas is. Who has the oil?

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