Top Ten Natural Gas Producing Countries
May 27, 2013
In 2011, Russia and the United States were by far the top natural gas producing countries, with more than four times that of Iran, the third largest producer of natural gas. Although Russia and the United States produced nearly the same amount of natural gas, Russia has far greater conventional natural gas reserves than the United States based on 2011 estimates. Iran and Qatar have large reserves of natural gas but are not producing natural gas as aggressively as the United States or Russia.
Natural Gas Production and Reserves for the Top 10 Natural Gas Producing Countries, 2011
Natural Gas Production and Reserves for the Top 10 Countries which Produce Natural Gas, 2011 (Trillion Cubic Feet)
| Country | Production | Known Conventional Reserves | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | 23.7 | 1,680 |
| 2 | United States | 22.9 | 305 |
| 3 | Iran | 5.4 | 1,046 |
| 4 | Canada | 5.2 | 62 |
| 5 | Qatar | 4.7 | 896 |
| 6 | China | 3.6 | 107 |
| 7 | Norway | 3.6 | 72 |
| 8 | Saudi Arabia | 3.3 | 276 |
| 9 | Algeria | 2.9 | 159 |
| 10 | Netherlands | 2.9 | 49 |
Note
Reserves include only known conventional reserves, which may increase in the future with the discovery of new deposits or improved techniques for extraction.
Source
Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics, 2011 reserves and 2011 production queried on March 28, 2013.