Natural gas world reserves

Confederation of Independent States (CIS) are denoted as explored reserves and include proved, probable, and some possible gas. The data for Canada also include some probable reserves. The worldwide natural gas reserves have continued to increase as the demand for gas has increased and exploration efforts have expanded. In 1976, the world natural gas reserves were estimated to be 6.58 x 10. In 1987, the reserves were 1.06 x lO ", and by 1992... 

World natural gas reserves and production ate shown in Table 3 (see also Fuels, SYN IHETIc). The deposits of natural gas are extensive and provide sources of feedstock and fuel. 

Table 1.9 World natural gas reserves by eountry. Adapted from Demirbas (2008)...

Table 46. Percentage of world natural gas reserves and consumption for various geographical areas in 1997 (1442)... 

Nearly three-quarters of world natural gas reserves (1994) are concentrated in two areas in the former Soviet Union (39 %) and the Arabian Gulf (34 %) as may be seen from Table 46. 

FIGURE 1.9 (a) World coal reserves by region, December 31, 1990. (b) World oil reserves by region, January 1, 1993. (c) World natural gas reserves by region, January 1, 1993. 

Figure 2.19. World natural gas reserve distribution. Source BP 2004.

Table 1.6 World natural gas reserves by country as of January 1, 2010 (trillion cubic feet)...

Fig. 16.9. Estimated world natural gas reserves. (U.S. Department of Energy.y...

Fig. 7.2 World natural gas reserves, 2004 (from Radler, M. Oil (g, Cas Journal 2003, 707, 43-47).

Proven oil reserves, instead of being depleted, as a matter of fact, tripled over the last 30 years and now are a trillion barrels. Natural gas reserves have grown even more. This seems so impressive that most people assume that there can be no oil or gas shortage in sight. However, inevitably increasing consumption by a growing world population... 

These products can be fairly easily processed into high-quality diesel and jet fuel in theory, any source of carbon can be used to generate synthesis gas. These facts along with the growing need for petroleum alternatives have renewed interest in FT synthesis. During the twentieth century, the FT process was used to produce fuels from coal in large and costly reactors. Recently, this megasize approach has been applied to world-scale GTL plants in Qatar. However, to tap abundant biomass resources and stranded natural gas reserves, a smaller scale, yet economically viable, FT process is needed. 

Countries in the Middle East and Russia hold 70% of the world s dwindling reserves of oil and gas. Coal is the most abundant and widely distributed fossil fuel. Global natural gas reserves are large and currently yield a reserve/production ratio of 50 to 60 years. Nuclear power s share of worldwide electricity supplies has been steady at 16-17% for many years, but reactor safety and waste disposal problems are still matters of concern. 

More than 45% of the world s electricity is generated from coal and it is the major fuel for generating electricity worldwide. The known coal reserves in the world are enongh for consnmption for over 215 years, while the known oil reserves are only abont 39 times the world s consumption and the known natural gas reserves are about 63 times the world s consumption level in 1998. Coal is not only plentiful, but also economical. Advanced coal-fired power generation technologies should be developed worldwide to generate at minimnm economic coal, improve thermal efficiency and meet environmental requirements. 

The reserves and resources of conventional NG are comparable in size to those of conventional oil, but global gas consumption is still considerably lower than that of oil. NG is found around the world, but the largest reserves are in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East. The proved gas reserves are unevenly distributed around the globe 41% are in the Middle East and 27% in Russia. Global natural gas reserves by countiy are shown in Table 1.9. 

As wc go into the next century, because of an apparent glut of petroleum on world markets and because of much greater optimism pertaining to the ultimate natural gas reserves in the world, the emphasis on the exploration for petroleum and natural gas in underwater locations has markedly diminished. 

The natural gas sources are spread unevenly over the world with almost 70% of the natural gas reserves located in the Middle East, Russia and the Caucasus region as shown on Figure 4. Provided the consumption of primary energy sources is maintained at present level the depletion time is reportedly 60.7 years for natural gas according to BP [3] (40.6 years for oil, and 204 years for coal)1. Although these estimates do not reflect the real source, they confirm that the fossil resources are rather limited and may be depleted within a few generations. 

British Petroleum Statistical Review of World Energy, Natural Gas Reserves, p. 20, 2001... 

The location of these reserves, far from the major populations of consuming countries, suggests that the world natural gas industry is... 

Already, the gaseous fuels account for approximately 40 percent of world petroleum energy production and nearly one-half of world petroleum energy reserves. Moreover, the growth of world natural gas consumption is already increasing rapidly. 

Despite these difficulties and obstacles, there are several successful LNG operations in various parts of the world. Japan, which has no petroleum or natural gas reserves, has been particularly active in trying to import LNG and other products. As fuel costs rise, LNG inherently becomes more competitive. Additionally, LNG liquefaction plants are becoming more efficient and cost effective. The combination of these two effects indicate a bright future for tankered LNG. 

The advantage of the Synetix process is that no soot forms, even with liquid crude oil fractions as feed. This makes catalyst regeneration unnecessary.46 Because of these advantages, the Synetix technology is used in over 400 reformers in over 30 countries. When North Sea gas and other natural gas reserves around the world were developed, the use of naphtha as a feed stock declined and the need for this technology was reduced. 

In addition to price considerations, there is the issue of strategic supply. With most of the oil reserves being held in OPEC member countries, particularly in the Middle East, and the major natural gas reserves held jointly between Russia and OPEC, there is concern about supply to many developed countries. By contrast, coal is available across the developed world with major reserves in the USA and China. Even Europe has substantial reserves of coal. Furthermore, the known coal reserves far exceed those of oil and natural gas combined. Indeed, in many coal rich countries, e.g. Australia, prospecting for new coal resources is hardly encountered - the world s coal reserves may he much higher than published statistics. 

The world around us is composed almost entirely of compounds and mixtures of compounds Rocks, coal, soil, petroleum, trees, and human bodies are all complex mixtures of chemical compounds in which different kinds of atoms are bound together. Substances composed of unbound atoms do exist in nature, but they are very rare. Examples are the argon in the atmosphere and the helium mixed with natural gas reserves. 

---