Asian countries with proven natural gas resources
Global proven natural gas reserves in 2016 rose slightly by 1.2 trillion cubic metres. This is sufficient to meet more than 50 years of current production. In Asia, China, Indonesia, India and Malaysia lead the region in natural gas reserves.
China tops the list of Asian countries with the maximum proven natural gas resources. The country has 49,45,000 million cubic metres of natural gas, surpassing other Asian countries by a huge margin and claiming the tenth spot globally.
Indonesia, India and Malaysia are the other Asian countries which have large reserves of natural gas. While Indonesia has 28,75,000 million cubic metres, India and Malaysia have 14,89,000 and 11,83,000 million cubic metres of natural gas, as per the data compiled by the CIA World Factbook.
Indonesia is also at the 13th spot globally when it comes to holding natural gas reserves, while India and Malaysia hold the 22nd and 23rd spot respectively.
Vietnam (6,99,400million cubic metres) Pakistan (6,69,000 million cubic metres) and Brunei (3,90,800 million cubic metres) also have sizeable reserves of natural gas, which can provide energy for heating, electricity generation and can be used as fuel for vehicles.
Other Asian countries like Myanmar, Bangladesh and Thailand have natural gas reserves of 2,83,200 million cubic metres, 2,33,000 million cubic metres and 2,19,500 million cubic metres respectively.
Although the Philippines, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan also have natural gas reserves they are tiny in comparison with the other Asian countries.
Increased use of natural gas can prove useful in dropping the over reliance on coal, which is a leading contributor to air pollution. Natural gas emits much less carbon dioxide and air pollutants compared to coal. It is also useful in almost all sectors of the global economy.
To increase dependence on natural gas, Asian countries need to invest in gas infrastructure as well as liberalise gas markets.