Widespread economic contraction in 2009 caused the largest recorded annual decline in global natural gas consumption: a 2.1 percent drop to 103.8 trillion cubic feet (tcf). Gas consumption fell even more than coal and oil use did, reflecting the fact that energy consumption in North America and Europe—the largest gas consumers—fell sharply in response to the recession, while the world’s fastest-growing energy market, China, used relatively little natural gas. Overall, natural gas was responsible for 23.8 percent of global primary energy consumption in 2009, a slight decrease from 2008. Yet the decline in gas use in 2009 will likely turn out to be a one-year anomaly, as proven global reserves of natural gas rose 1.2 percent to an estimated 6,618 tcf.

Read: Natural Gas Use Falls But Renaissance Is in the Pipeline by Saya Kitasei

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