# Natural gas: Criticality

How a pipeline became a geopolitical weapon in 2022

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

What this tab covers How exposed economies are to a supply disruption: the EU, US and India listings, the concentration score, and a quantified exposure for the US, EU, India, China, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia. Where the EU scored it, a chart of supply risk against economic importance, with import reliance, recycling input and substitutes.

#### Exposure by region

| Region | Exposure | Share of world output | Share of world imports | Share of world exports | Net trade (US$) | On own critical list | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **US** | Low | 25.5% | 2.0% | 11.0% | +$27.0 bn | No | World's largest producer (25% of 2024 output, 1,033 bcm) and largest LNG exporter at about 115 bcm in 2024 (Energy Institute 2025). |
| **EU** | High | 0.9% | 35.4% | 7.9% | −$105.7 bn | No | Produced 33 bcm and consumed 323 bcm in 2024, so about 90% import-dependent; replaced most Russian pipeline gas with LNG and Norwegian supply and must fill storage to 90% before winter (Energy Institute). |
| **India** | High | 0.9% | 4.1% | 0.0% | −$15.0 bn | No | Imports about half its gas (37.9 bcm of LNG against 70.3 bcm of consumption in 2024), nearly 40% of it from Qatar, which made the 2026 Ras Laffan outage a direct hit to fertiliser and city gas supply (Energy Institute; Business Today). |
| **China** | High | 5.9% | 17.8% | 0.8% | −$62.7 bn | Yes | Produced 248 bcm and consumed 434 bcm in 2024, importing 105 bcm as LNG plus pipeline gas from Russia, Turkmenistan and Myanmar; largest LNG importer by value (Energy Institute; UN Comtrade). |
| **Japan** | High | 0.0% | 11.2% | 0.0% | −$41.2 bn | No | Almost entirely import-dependent, buying 89 bcm of LNG in 2024 against 91 bcm of consumption; 18.8% of world LNG import value (Energy Institute; UN Comtrade). |
| **Latin America** | Medium | 4.7% | 3.6% | 1.3% | −$8.97 bn | no list | Roughly balanced: South and Central America produced 165 bcm and consumed 169 bcm in 2024; Trinidad and Peru export LNG, Venezuela holds 6.3 tcm of reserves and Argentina's Vaca Muerta is growing (Energy Institute). |
| **Middle East** | Low | 17.4% | 0.1% | 21.0% | +$65.2 bn | no list | Net exporter: produced 738 bcm and consumed 593 bcm in 2024; Iran (32 tcm) and Qatar (25 tcm) hold about 30% of world reserves and Qatar exported 107 bcm of LNG (Energy Institute). |
| **Australia** | Low | 3.8% | 0.0% | 14.3% | +$44.5 bn | No | Produced 150 bcm but used 37 bcm in 2024, exporting 107 bcm as LNG, mainly to Japan, China and Korea (Energy Institute). |

 Exposure rating: **High** when the region is a net importer whose import share is at least three times its share of world output (or, for farm goods, it produces under 70% of what it consumes); **Medium** for other net importers (or 70-95% self-sufficiency), raised to High when world supply is highly concentrated in another country; **Low** for net exporters or self-sufficient regions. Net importer status uses tonnage where reported, otherwise value. Output: World Mining Data, 2024. Trade: UN Comtrade 2024 (EU = sum of member states, including intra-EU trade). Critical lists: US 2025, EU 2024/1252, India 2023, China 2016 strategic minerals, Japan METI, Australia 2024.

Gas is not on the US 2025 or India 2023 critical minerals lists, which exclude fuels, but it is a front-line energy-security issue. Europe's 2022 crisis showed how a pipeline supplier can use flows as leverage. The EU responded with new LNG terminals, storage targets and demand cuts. Gas also underpins food: only about 2% of output makes nitrogen fertiliser, yet that fertiliser sustains a large part of world crop output (Conway). Power generation has substitutes in renewables, coal and nuclear. High-temperature industry and fertiliser have few. Methane leaks add a climate risk.
 EU 2023 Not assessed US 2025 list No India 2023 list No Production HHI 1,039 unconcentrated

## 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)
- [Abundance](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/abundance/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)
- [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)