Russia holds around 19.8% of total proven natural gas reserves globally, according to BP's Statistical Review of World Energy 2019 report.
The country holds 38.9 trillion cubic meters (tcm) of natural gas reserves while Iran follows with 31.9 tcm. LNG giant Qatar is ranked third with 24.7 tcm.
According to the report, the Middle East is the leading region with 75.5 tcm of proven gas reserves, while Europe has the least amount with 3.9 tcm.
- US world's biggest gas producer
In 2018, the gas production in the U.S. reached 831.8 billion cubic meters (bcm), representing around 20 percent of total global gas output last year, the report revealed.
In natural gas output, the U.S. has been a world leader since 2009 when it first surpassed Russia in gas production.
The U.S. is also a world leader in gas consumption since 1985. The country consumed 817.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas last year.
Russia followed the U.S. with 454.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas consumption in 2018.
According to the report, global proved gas reserves are sufficient to meet 50.9 years of global production at 2018 levels.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr