Despite expectations of a rise in oil and gas prices in the second half of 2021, and the continued rise of prices in the first half of 2022, the pace of prices in the international liquefied gas market was high, accompanied by several factors related to an increase in recovery in the global economy from the negative repercussions of "Covid-19".
The climatic conditions of the harsh winter in Europe and Asia were also an important factor in increasing the demand for gas, which led to an unprecedented increase in prices for decades, and the political causes of tensions between Russia and Ukraine were also not absent.
Events in the global energy market indicate that fossil fuels are still the backbone of the current civilization, and alternative energy has not yet contributed a reliable share in dispensing with fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal).
Despite the fact that gas is one of the sources of fossil fuels, it is the least of those sources in terms of environmental pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, which leads to the preference of many countries to use it over other materials such as oil or coal.
Despite the fact that gas is one of the sources of fossil fuels, it is the least of those sources in terms of environmental pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, which leads many countries to prefer using it over other materials such as oil or coal.
The largest gas producer in the world
The Arab countries have a tangible presence in the field of natural gas in terms of production and the balance of reserves.
According to the statistics of the unified Arab economic report for the year 2021, global production amounted to 3.8 trillion cubic meters in 2020, and that the share of Arab countries in gas production in the same year amounted to 584 billion cubic meters, and that the total production of OPEC reached 324.5 billion cubic meters. The share of non-Arab OPEC members was 337 billion cubic meters.
As for the share of major countries in the production of natural gas worldwide, according to previous data, the following are:
America is at the forefront of the list of producing countries, with about 914 billion cubic meters.
Russia again with a share of 638 billion cubic meters.
China is third with 194 billion cubic meters.
Qatar is fourth with 171 billion cubic meters.
Then Canada with 165 billion cubic meters.
Saudi Arabia with 112 billion cubic meters.
Norway with 111.5 billion cubic meters.
At the level of the Arab countries, after Qatar, Egypt comes with a production volume of 58.5 billion cubic meters, then the UAE with 55 billion cubic meters.
The largest owners of gas reserves in the world
As for reserves, the global reserves of natural gas amount to 205 trillion meters, the share of the Arab countries from those reserves is 54.4 trillion cubic meters, while OPEC has gas reserves estimated at 73.1 trillion meters, while the share of OPEC without the Arab countries of gas reserves is 46.2 trillion metres.
Among the most prominent OPEC countries with the largest reserves, we find Iran, which has reserves of 34 trillion cubic meters.
At the world level in terms of countries with the largest reserves of natural gas, Russia leads with a share of 47.2 trillion cubic meters, then Qatar with 23.8 trillion cubic meters, America with 12.8 trillion cubic meters, then China with 6.5 trillion cubic meters.
The largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the world
According to recent figures issued by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, through a report that monitors the developments of natural gas in the global market, during the last quarter of 2021, and in 2021 in general, it was found that natural gas exports worldwide in 2021 reached a rate not reached throughout the history of the gas industry on Over the course of 5 decades.
The quantities of liquefied gas exported amounted to about 380 million tons, compared to 355.1 million tons in 2020, achieving a growth rate of 7%, which means that the liquefied gas industry has become an increasing role in the global energy market.
As for the countries with the largest share in the liquefied gas export market, Qatar ranked second in the world with a share estimated at 77.4 million tons, after it had for several years ranked first in liquefied gas exports in the world.
It is noteworthy that last January, the annual global liquefied natural gas report issued by the International Gas Union said that Qatar will top the list of liquefied gas producers globally by 2026, in production and exports.
According to the International Federation, the production of the Qatari North Gas Field project will begin to gradually increase annual exports of liquefied natural gas from 77 million metric tons currently to 110 million by 2025, and then reach 126 million by the end of 2027.
Australia advanced to rank first globally, with quantities amounting to 80 million tons, and America came in third place with quantities amounting to 71 million tons, then Russia in fourth place with exports amounting to 29.3 million tons.
As for the Arab countries exporting natural gas, they obtained an estimated share of 29.4% of the total global gas exports, as the Arab exports of the gas track amounted to 111.7 million tons.
Qatar leads the Arab LNG exporting countries, followed by Algeria with an export share of 11.5 million tons, then the Sultanate of Oman with a quantity of 10.3 million tons, then Egypt with an amount of exports of 6.5 million tons, and then the UAE with an amount of exports of 5.9 million tons.
The largest importer of liquefied gas
The Asian and European markets are among the world's largest demand regions for path gas.
According to 2021 figures:
China came at the forefront of natural gas importing countries, as it imported quantities estimated at 78.5 million tons.
This year is the first in which Japan ranks second among the LNG importing countries in the world, since the beginning of this industry in the 1960s, when Japan imported 74.4 million tons.
In third place, South Korea imported 45.4 million tons of liquefied gas.
The largest part of the liquefied gas import market with the Asian market is the European market. Last year, Europe's imports of liquefied gas amounted to 77.7 million tons, a decrease of 5% compared to imports in 2020, which amounted to 81.9 million tons.
Europe managed its liquefied gas needs during 2021 from 5 main countries: America 31%, Qatar 21%, Russia 18%, Algeria 13%, and Nigeria 11%.
Prices in gas markets in the world
There are two markets for oil and gas prices, the long-term market, which usually enjoys lower prices and ensures the continuation of flows safely, while the second market, which is the market for urgent deals, is usually resorted to the urgent deals market to cover emergency needs, because of the problems that exist in long-term deals, whether For security reasons or political instability, or the existence of needs that led to an increase in demand that were not taken into account, as happened in Europe from lower temperatures, and European societies experiencing a severe winter.
The year 2021 witnessed an unprecedented rise in natural gas prices, which was not witnessed in previous decades, and this rise was led by a group of combined factors, including the Asian-European race to obtain urgent deals, as well as the return of economic activity in light of the recovery of some economies from the negative effects of "" Covid-19”, which led to an increase in demand for gas, as well as a decline in supplies from some exporting countries such as Norway and Australia, due to periodic and urgent maintenance.
Russia's reluctance to increase pumping additional quantities of gas also led to raising prices in international markets, as Russia justified the increase in internal demand to meet the winter season, and the political tensions between Russia and Ukraine also played a role in raising gas prices.
Finally, the decline in Europe's gas stocks to the lowest level in a decade, played a role in increasing gas prices in the international market.
Over the period from October to December 2021, prices in the European market ranged between $24 to $37 per million thermal units of gas, while in Asian markets, prices during this period ranged from $33 to $38. dollars per million thermal units of gas.
The long-term contracts were at 10.7 dollars per million British thermal units.
Types of gas and transportation methods
There are different types of natural gas, including biogas, which is produced from natural waste according to certain methods, apart from the presence of oxygen, and there is gas extracted from the ground, and it is classified according to depth into deep gas that is difficult to extract, and gas that is located a few thousand kilometers from meters, which is the dominant type.
There are also classifications of gas according to its density, and some of it is used in the production of petrochemicals, and the largest percentage is used in heating homes, generating electricity or in factory uses, and it is also used in the production of fertilizers.
Gas is transported in two known ways:
The first is that the gas is converted from a gaseous state to a liquid state, to be transported through cars or ships, and through special tankers.
The second method, where the gas is transported through pipelines extending from the production wells to the consuming or importing countries, and in this case the gas is also transferred from the gaseous state to the liquid state.
There are lines to transport gas from extraction wells to places of consumption, both within countries - and America is the largest country that owns a network to transport natural gas between its different states - or between countries each other, and the most famous of these lines is the 6400 km line extending from Siberia in Russia to transport gas to a group from European countries.
There is also the Northern Stream 2 line, which is being completed, and is also concerned with transporting Russian gas to Germany, with a cost of more than 10 billion dollars.
In the vicinity of the Arab region, there is a gas pipeline between Egypt and Israel.
There is a thinking by the Israeli occupation state to establish a pipeline to transport gas extracted from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe, to benefit from this service, the countries of Cyprus, Greece, and the Israeli occupation.
The most important alternatives to Russian gas to secure Europe's needs
Russia is important to Europe in terms of natural gas supplies, as it owns a large share of gas reserves, and is the largest share in the world according to data for 2020, and it already supplies Europe with natural gas by up to 18%.
And if the proportion of Russia in terms of actual supply can be compensated from other sources, such as the Arab countries, led by Qatar and Algeria, the geographical proximity to Russia, as well as the possibility of extending gas pipelines to Europe through Russia, secure supplies by a large percentage, and reduce shipping and transportation costs .
But in light of the political conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and with it the West, Europe can bear those transportation and shipping costs, or consider transporting gas from Qatar and Algeria, as well as from countries to other countries such as Nigeria, through new pipelines, with which Europe can dispense with Russia.