After the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, for many developed countries, blue fuel has become a sought-after source of energy. In the long run, dozens of gas exporting countries will benefit from this. In addition, deep processing of natural raw materials is becoming increasingly important for the global economy, when a variety of products are obtained from it - from fuel to fertilizers and synthetic fiber.
Key mining regions
According to most expert organizations, the United States is the leader in the production of blue fuel (20% of the world's fuel), the second is Russia (17.6%). In 2009, America for the first time took first place not only in terms of production, but also in terms of marketable gas supplied to counterparties, which was associated with explosive growth in production from shale deposits and relatively warm winters.
However, the United States is ranked 8th among gas exporting countries. Also among the largest gas producing states are Canada, Iran and Turkmenistan, but their total share in global production is at 14%.
According to some estimates, Russia in 2010 regained leadership in terms of production after the closure of many shale deposits in the United States, due to falling prices for hydrocarbons. The key Russian region, where the main reserves of blue fuel are concentrated, is the huge basin of Western Siberia. According to proven reserves in the world, two regions are distinguished: the CIS countries (Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) and Iran.
Top blue fuel merchants
The list of countries exporting natural gas contains 45-55 countries, due to the lack of sales of some exporters in some years. In addition, it includes, for example, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which do not have their own deposits, but re-export Russian hydrocarbons. The undisputed leader among sellers of blue fuel is Russia with approximately 222.6 billion m 3, followed by Qatar 118.9 billion m 3 and Norway 114.4 billion m 3.
Among the exporters are the European Union, Canada, the Netherlands and Turkmenistan. Many of them collaborate within the framework of an international organization - the Forum of Gas Exporting Countries. In total, the gas OPEC unites states with 73% of world reserves and with 42% of world production. However, not all of them are ready to create a cartel for regulating prices in the global market. Gas is exported by the countries of the world in two ways: mostly gas pipelines (75%) and marine gas carriers (25%).
