World gas reserves increased by 0.9 percent, driven by the U.S., Nigeria and Iraq, according to the second volume of the World Oil and Gas Review published by Eni on Monday.
Russia remains the top holder of gas reserves at 25 percent of the world’s total, Eni noted, adding that among the top ten, six are OPEC countries with a 32 percent share of the world’s total.
The Italian company also noted that global gas production increased by 0.7 percent, driven mainly by new Australian LNG plants.
"In the U.S., the world’s largest producer of natural gas, production slightly declined by 3.2 percent, after a 10-year growth driven by the shale gas boom. In Europe, Norway’s production was almost flat after a strong jump in 2015, whilst output continued to decline in the European Union at 3 percent," the report read.
- Gas demand
World gas demand recorded robust growth of 2 percent in 2016 thanks to a strong 5.4 percent recovery in Europe, mainly due to the power sector and weather conditions. In the Asia-Pacific region, 5.1 percent growth was observed led by the 8.6 percent strong demand in China.
The report showed that gas demand also rose substantially in India and South Korea while the U.K., Germany, Italy, and France reported the highest increases in Europe.
- Renewables
At the end of 2016, installed solar and wind capacity of 296 and 467 GW respectively, accounted for almost 40 percent of total installed renewable power capacity, or about 15 percent of all power sources, Eni said.
"China leads the market for solar and wind with an installed capacity of 226 GW, 30 percent of the world's total," it added.
Eni's World Oil and Gas Review is an annual statistics report on world reserves, production and consumption of oil and natural gas. This year marks the 16th edition of the report.
This volume follows the first published in July that focused on the oil and refining industry. It provides figures and statistics on natural gas, biofuels, and, for the first time, on modern renewable energy sources, both wind and solar.
(Anadolu Agency)
