This list is based on the CIA World Factbook (when no citation is given) or other authoritative third-party sources (as cited). Based on data from EIA, at the start of 2021, proven gas reserves were dominated by three countries: Iran, Russia, and Qatar.
There is some disagreement on which country has the largest proven gas reserves. Sources that consider Russia in possession of the world's largest proven reserves include the US CIA (47,600 cubic kilometers), the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) (49,000 km3), and OPEC (48,810 km3). However, BP credits Russia with only 32,900 km3, which would place it in second place, slightly behind Iran (33,100 to 33,800 km3, depending on the source).
Due to constant announcements of shale gas recoverable reserves, as well as drilling in Central Asia, South America, Africa, and deepwater drilling, estimates are updated frequently. Since 2000, some countries, notably the US and Canada, have seen large increases in proven gas reserves due to development of shale gas, but shale gas deposits in most countries are yet to be added to reserve calculations.
List Note: * indicates that the linked article is about natural gas production in the country or territory specifically, such as natural gas in Russia.
+Proven reserves (in billions of cubic metres) Country U.S. EIA(2021) OPEC(2018-2024) BP(end of 2020)CIA World Factbook (2006–18) Production(2024) Years ofproductionin reserve(EIA Reserves and Production) 47,800 46,830 37,400 47,800.000 642 73 34,000 33,990 32,100 33,720.000 279 122 23,900 23,861 24,700 24,070.000 170 140 10,000 9,838 13,600 7,504.000 78 126 9,430 9,730 6,000 8,619.000 123 79 17,710 9,067 12,600 7,716.000 1,069 8 6,090 8,210 5,900 6,091.000 59 139 5,750 5,980 5,500 5,475.000 39 153 6,000 5,510 6,300 5,739.000 25 220 4,500 4,500 2,300 4,504.000 99 45 3,740 3,710 3,500 3,820.000 10 371 3,230 3,173 2,400 1,989.000 152 21 3,000 2,832.000 12 250 1,200 2,909 900 1,183.000 81 36 6,650 2,890 8,400 5,440.000 258 11 1,000 2,866 1,300 2,866.000 70 41 1,600 2,314 1,400 1,782.000 131 18 1,800 2,221 2,100 2,186.000 47 47 2,100 2,059 2,400 2,056.000 199 10 2,400 1,898 2,300 2,407.000 29 65 1,800 1,780 1,700 1,784.000 20 89 1,800 1,564 800 1,841.000 46 34 2,000 1,227 2,500 991.100 38 32 1,400 1,150 1,300 1,290.000 36 32 – 1,000 0.000 0.00 - 650 884 700 651.300 44 20 130 804 130 801.400 9.7 83 590 757 400 588.800 24 32 1,500 730 1,400 1,505.000 12 61 710 5.097 2.3 309 680 0.991 0.01 68,000 310 513 261 455.900 14 37 480 300 478.500 0.12 4,000 1.44 474 1.444 0.12 3,9504530.0000.00 - 310 433 290 447.400 25 17 340 422 308.100 5.8 73 487 381 400 336.600 47 8 130 346 110 185.800 20 17 370 325 300 377.400 22 15 310 310 213 295.900 11 28 1,100 304 1,100 1,104.000 18 17 240 300 269 240.700 3.7 81 300 280 90.610 1.8 156 650 273 400 637.100 13 21 180 269 187 176.000 31 9 260 252 222 260.500 11 23 710 203 600 699.400 6.4 32 – 200.000 6.10 33 180 589 176.000 27 7 180 163 210.500 11 16 140 180 143 193.400 27 7 140 152 135.100 2.5 61 180 146 178 279.800 31 5 – 141.600 0.00 - 100 105 78 105.500 9.2 11 88 104 86 113.900 10 10 99 98.540 1.7 58 82 64.8 92.030 19 4 80 84.950 0.00- 30 73.9 100 12.860 2.2 34 71 70.790 1 71 65 65.130 1.2 54 – 63.710 0.00 - 62 62.290 0.00- 60 56.630 0.06 1,000 91 56.3 72.2 79.790 5.2 11 51 49.550 0.08 638 48 48.140 0.3 160 140 40 36.810 6.7 6 20 39.6 100 39.500 4.1 10 32 0.000 0.00 - 31 33.700 3.3 9 30 30 28.320 0.5 60 30 28.320 2.7 11 30 28.320 0.00- 30 24.920 0.7 43 30 24.920 0.00- 45 27.1 100 38.110 2.6 10 20 22.650 3.4 6 20 20.900 1.1 18 10 14.160 0.06 167 10 14.160 0.00- 10 9.911 1.1 9 8 8.5 8.495 0.01 850 8 8.410 0.02 400 8 7.079 0.05 160 6 6.513 2 3 6 6.513 0.5 12 6 6.229 0.09 67 6 6.031 0.2 30 6 5.663 0.04 150 6 5.663 0.02 300 6 5.663 0.02 300 6 5.663 0.00- 6 0.821 0.06 100 10 5.4 10.900 0.3 18 99 5.3 97.970 1.1 5 3 6.598 1.7 2 3 3.964 0.2 15 3 2.832 0.07 43 – 2.960 0.00 - 2.55 2.548 0.05 51 1.13 1.133 0.00- 0.99 0.991 0.00- 0.11 0.142 0.01 11 205,500 (2020) 208,890 (2024) 188,100 (end of 2020) 208,400 (start of 2011) 4,218 (2024) 50
Comparison of proven natural gas reserves from different sources (cubic kilometers, as of 31 December 2014/1 January 2015) Source Canada Iran Russia Saudi Arabia United States Venezuela BP 2,000 34,000 32,800 8,200 9,800 5,600 OPEC 2,028 34,020 49,541 8,489 9,580 5,617 U.S. Energy Information Administration 2,535 42,426 59,619 10,393 10,441 6,960
References