This article is the fourth in a series on BP’s recently-released Statistical Review of World Energy 2019. The Review provides a comprehensive picture of supply and demand for major energy sources on a country-level basis. Previous articles covered carbon dioxide emissions, petroleum supply and demand, and the production and consumption of coal.
Today, I want to cover the production and consumption of natural gas.
Natural Gas
Of the fossil fuels, natural gas has the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per unit of energy consumed. For that reason, natural gas has become one of the fuels of choice for countries looking to lower carbon dioxide emissions.
For more than 50 years, natural gas demand has an almost uninterrupted track record of growth. Since BP began tracking the numbers in 1965, global natural gas consumption has increased by more than a factor of six, compared to a tripling of global oil consumption over that same time.
The U.S. remains the world leader in both consumption and production of natural gas. The 79.1 billion cubic feet (BCF) the U.S. consumed in 2018 was nearly as much as the entire Asia Pacific region consumed (79.9 BCF), and 80% more than the 44.0 BCF consumed by Russia, the world’s second largest consumer.
Natural gas consumption is growing in all regions of the world except for Europe, which saw a 1.0% average annual decline over the past decade. At the other extreme, average annual consumption increased over the past decade by 5.6% in the Middle East, and 5.0% in the Asia Pacific region.
