# Natural gas: Abundance

Half a century of reserves, with shale adding more

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/abundance/

What this tab covers How much of this energy there is: the natural flow or stock, the share that could be harnessed, and how much is used today, compared with world primary energy use (592 EJ in 2024).

Proven gas reserves are about 13 to 14 years of total world energy use, or about 50 years of current output. Shale, tight and coalbed gas resources add several times more.
 A stock: finite on human time scales

#### How much there is

| Measure | Value | Compared with world energy use | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Proven reserves (Eni World Energy Review)** | 208.8 trillion cubic metres (end-2025)^[18](https://www.eni.com/content/dam/enicom/documents/eng/visione/wer/2026/03_WER-2026-Natural-Gas.pdf) | about 8,100 EJ at 38.6 MJ/m3, roughly 14 times world primary energy use (calculated) | Reserves-to-production ratio about 50 years (208.8 tcm divided by 4.12 tcm a year, calculated). |
| **Proven reserves (Oil and Gas Journal)** | 7,537.7 trillion cubic feet, about 213 trillion cubic metres (end-2024) tcm^[5](https://ogj.com/exploration-development/reserves/article/55250010/ogj-survey-shows-global-oil-reserves-increase-while-natural-gas-reserves-decline) | about 8,200 EJ at 38.6 MJ/m3, roughly 14 times world primary energy use (calculated) | OPEC members hold 2,653 tcf of this. |
| **Proven reserves (BGR)** | 211 trillion cubic metres (end-2022)^[19](https://www.bgr.bund.de/EN/Themen/Rohstoffe/Downloads/Downloads_EN_en/energeistudien_en/energiestudie_2023_en.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1) | about 8,000 EJ at BGR's 37.9 MJ/m3, about 13.5 times world primary energy use (calculated) | About 94% is in conventional fields; shale gas and coalbed methane make up the rest. |
| **Resources beyond reserves (BGR)** | 642 (conventional 323, shale 205, tight 63, coalbed methane 51) tcm (end-2016)^[6](https://www.bgr.bund.de/EN/Themen/Energie/Downloads/energiestudie_2017_en.pdf%3F__blob=publicationFile&v=2) | 24,439 EJ (BGR), roughly 41 times world energy use (calculated) | Excludes aquifer gas (24 tcm) and methane hydrates, which BGR puts at 184 tcm (separate tile). Later BGR resource tables were not accessible for checking. |
| **World production** | 4,124 bcm (2024)^[7](https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review) |  |  |
| **Gas use in energy terms** | 148.6 EJ (2024)^[7](https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review) | about a quarter of the 592 EJ world total |  |

Against the 592 EJ baseline for 2024 (Energy Institute Statistical Review 2025), gas supplied about 149 EJ. The three reserve estimates differ in date and method: Eni and OGJ compile national declarations (end-2025 and end-2024), while BGR applies its own assessment (end-2022). They agree closely, at about 209 to 213 tcm, or roughly 8,000 EJ.

The shale revolution showed how fluid the reserve category is. Shale gas that BGR counted largely as resources became the bulk of US output within two decades.

#### Sources

1. [OGJ survey shows global oil reserves increase while natural gas reserves decline](https://ogj.com/exploration-development/reserves/article/55250010/ogj-survey-shows-global-oil-reserves-increase-while-natural-gas-reserves-decline) Oil & Gas Journal, 2024
2. [Energy Study 2017: Data and Developments Concerning German and Global Energy Supplies (Table 2, reserves and resources at end-2016)](https://www.bgr.bund.de/EN/Themen/Energie/Downloads/energiestudie_2017_en.pdf%3F__blob=publicationFile&v=2) BGR (German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources), 2017
3. [Statistical Review of World Energy 2025 (74th edition)](https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review) Energy Institute, 2025
4. [World Energy Review 2026: Natural gas (reserves at 31 December 2025)](https://www.eni.com/content/dam/enicom/documents/eng/visione/wer/2026/03_WER-2026-Natural-Gas.pdf) Eni, 2026
5. [BGR Energy Study 2023: Data and Developments Concerning German and Global Energy Supplies (natural gas reserves, Table 4)](https://www.bgr.bund.de/EN/Themen/Rohstoffe/Downloads/Downloads_EN_en/energeistudien_en/energiestudie_2023_en.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1) BGR (German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources), 2024

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/index.md)
- [Energy overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/energy/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/correlation/index.md)
- [How energy resides](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/resides/index.md)
- [Fluctuation in time](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/time/index.md)
- [Across the Earth](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/geography/index.md)
- [Impact on nature](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/nature/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/overview/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/links/index.md)