World balance of natural gas production – Main trends in 2019
In 2019, world gross natural gas production increased 3.2% to 4857 bcm, representing an addition of 151 bcm. Out of this volume, 8% is reinjected to enhance oil production, 7% I lost through shrinkage and processing/field operations, and 3% is flared.
In the last five years, gross production increased by 2.4%/year, while marketed production grew more strongly by 3%/year. In this context, the rate of utilization of raw gas improved.
Quantities of reinjected gas continued to drop, down 0.8% in 2019 and down 2%/year in the last five years. The largest drops were recorded in Algeria and Venezuela.
Global flaring and venting increased 2.7% in 2019, driven up by Russia and the United States. The 2019 level was roughly equivalent to the flared gas volume five years previously, demonstrating needs for more significant actions to reduce flaring in some countries.
The top-five flaring countries account for 57% of world gas flaring.
The shrinkage or other losses result from the processing of natural gas before it enters the networks, purification and/or extraction of its liquefiable fractions (ethane, LPG, natural gasoline and condensates). This volume also includes natural gas used in field operations.
The shrinkage and other losses continued to rise strongly in 2019. In the last five years, the volume of upstream losses increased by 3%/year in line with marketed production, with the largest increments from the United States and Iran, illustrating the growing importance of the use of Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs).