American Gas - March 2012 - (Page 5)

industrynews PeoPle Trends evenTs Global natural Gas Consumption Hits record High global natural gas consumption is on the decline. The Middle East, which is home to some of the richest natural gas resources in the world but lacks the proper infrastructure for much domestic consumption, saw a 6.2 percent rise in natural gas demand. Global use of natural gas rose 7.4 percent from its 2009 slump to reach a record 111.9 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2010, according to a report issued in December by the Worldwatch Institute. The Vital Signs Online report said the increase, driven by surging natural gas consumption in the United States and Asia, puts natural gas’s share of total energy consumption at 23.8 percent. The largest incremental increase in natural gas use occurred in the United States, where low prices and other factors triggered a 1.3-Tcf increase to 24.1 Tcf, just over one-fifth of global natural gas consumption. But the Asia Pacific region experienced the strongest growth as a share of 2009 consumption levels, with China, India, South Korea and Taiwan all experiencing demand growth of greater than 20 percent. China, which surpassed Japan in 2009 to become Asia’s largest natural gas consumer, led the region’s growth spurt by consuming 3.9 Tcf, or 3.4 percent of world use. The former Soviet Union, which experienced the largest regional decline in natural gas consumption in 2009, saw its demand bounce back by 6.8 percent in 2010. Russia, the world’s second-largest natural gas consumer, single-handedly accounted for 70 percent of regional growth. In the European Union, natural gas consumption increased by 7.4 percent although the EU’s share of Natural gas producers responded to the revived demand with a 7.3 percent increase in production. The United States maintained its position as the leading source of natural gas, accounting for just under one-fifth of the world’s total production in 2010. In Russia, which holds nearly a quarter of the world’s proved natural gas reserves, production jumped 11.6 percent. In the Middle East, growth in produc- tion of natural gas outstripped that of consumption, rising by 13.2 percent. Last year, Qatar and Iran alone accounted for 29.4 percent of global proved reserves. Reenergized global gas demand drove average prices up from 2009 levels in nearly all markets. According to one index, the United States saw a 13 percent increase over 2009 levels. Prices remained the highest in Asia, where consumption increased most rapidly between 2009 and 2010. In the EU nations, prices fell 6 percent, largely because of an excess of liquefied natural gas originally intended for U.S. markets. The Worldwatch report said two major developments in 2011 have significantly affected the stability of global natural gas markets: the political unrest brought about by the Arab Spring, which slowed production in a number of gas-producing countries in North Africa, and the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiishi nuclear power plant, which has led countries around the world to reconsider their dependence on nuclear power. “Natural gas is likely to play a major role in filling the gap left by idled and phased-out nuclear plants,” wrote report authors Saya Kitasei and Ayodeji Adebola. “The unanticipated spike in public opposition to nuclear power can only increase global natural gas demand in the coming decade.” www.worldwatch.org/global-natural-gasconsumption-regains-momentum march 2012 AmericAn GAs 5 http://www.worldwatch.org/global-natural-gas-consumption-regains-momentum

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - March 2012

American Gas - March 2012
Contents
President’s Message
In the News
Safety First
Ask AGA
Leaders on Leadership
A Better Balance
Places to Be
Vendor News
Noteworthies
Jobline
Marketplace
Advertisers’ Index
Facts on Gas

American Gas - March 2012