Summary
The factors driving natural gas demand and supply increasingly point to a future where natural gas plays a greater role in the global energy mix. Global uncertainties in the energy sector present opportunities for natural gas, which can:
- Reduce Emissions: When replacing other fossil fuels, natural gas leads to lower emissions of greenhouse gases and local pollutants.
- Diversify Energy Supply: It helps improve energy security by diversifying energy sources.
- Provide Flexibility: Natural gas offers the flexibility and backup capacity needed as more variable capacity comes online in power generation.
- Support Urbanization: In regions like China, India, and the Middle East, which are urbanizing rapidly and experiencing significant growth in energy demand, natural gas is particularly attractive.
The global natural gas resource base is vast and widely dispersed geographically. Conventional recoverable resources are equivalent to more than 120 years of current global consumption, while total recoverable resources could sustain today's production for over 250 years.
