Global Natural Gas Production and Consumption

Over the last couple of weeks I published charts based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration that showed various countries' production and consumption of coal and oil.  Today I turn to the third fossil fuel, one which is gradually growing in importance in the U.S.: Natural Gas.

Natural gas is a resource which is mainly used for heating homes, industrial uses, and electrical power generation.

The chart shows that the U.S. and Russia are the largest producers of natural gas.  Russia exports a great deal of natural gas, while the U.S. consumed slightly more than it produced in 2010, although this may change in coming years, as the U.S. taps its huge supply of unconventional shale-based natural gas.  China is a surprisingly modest consumer of natural gas, and instead has an over-sized reliance on coal.