Is Russia the country with the most gas in the world? What are the other countries with reserves?
Europe's reliance on Russian gas is being assessed, with some countries like Germany getting more than half their supply. Are there any alternatives?
The war in Ukraine has sent commodity prices soaring. Items such as wheat and oil have seen record leaps in price. One commodity that has and will be badly affected is the price of natural gas. This is because Russia is the world's largest producer of natural gas, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
By the end of 2020, Russia produced 47,805 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas, far outstripping the nation which produces the second most. Unsurprisingly, this makes Russia the largest exporter of gas in the world. The sanctions imposed on Russia has led to the price of gas sky-rocketing, as there is a much smaller pool of nations to get the resource from.
Europe is especially dependent on Russian gas, with some countries like Germany getting more than half of their gas supplies from them. The closing of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was seen as a mark of how serious the west was being with its sanctions.
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Which other countries are large natural gas producers?
Iran has the second largest amount of natural gas reserves, about 33,721 bcm. It is one of the most hydrocarbon-rich areas in the world, helped by its large mountain ranges. The Asian nation could be an alternative to Russian gas to import, but it is currently under a range of sanctions itself concerning its nuclear energy plans. Discussions are underway to resolve this.
The nation with the third largest reserves is the Gulf state of Qatar. Despite being just 11,571 km2 , it has natural gas reserves of around 24,072 bcm, the highest density of the gas in the world. It has been reported that the country has already been tapped up by the US as it seeks to reduce the price of gas.