Recent Trends in the World Gas Market: Economical, Geopolitical and Environmental Aspects

Natural gas is considered by energy experts to be the most promising fossil fuel for the 21stcentury, and as a matter of fact, the International Energy Agency (IEA) introduced for the first time inthe 2011 World Energy Outlook a high gas use scenario called the “Golden Age of Gas”. Natural gasis an easy to burn and clean fuel; its proven reserves are large and furthermore, enormous possibilitiesare offered by unconventional resources. There are anyway some geopolitical concerns in the globalgas market, since the most important reserves are concentrated in a limited number of countries; theenvironmental impacts in the extraction of shale gas should also be taken into account. The paperpresents an updated and thorough overview of recent advances and trends in the global gas market,highlighting the role of Europe in the World scenario. Statistical data from the main internationalreports are presented; economical, geopolitical and especially environmental aspects are presentedand discussed.