Current state and perspectives of the gas industry of Russia

Abstract

The dynamics of energy consumption in the world market is analyzed. The natural gas demand growth forecast is provided. Gas will be the most crucial energy source in the next 30 years which can be considered to be the “era of gas”. It is shown that natural gas is a promising source of energy and raw materials of petrochemical chemistry. Unlike oil and coal, gas will have strengthened its position by increasing its share in the total balance of primary energy carriers from 22 to 24-26% by 2035. By the middle of the 21st century, its share will have been 25 -27% in the world and 56% in Russia. The use of natural and associated petroleum gas in Russia is compared with global trends. In Russia, the use of useful gas components does not meet potential capabilities of the raw material base and does not comply with the world practice. The rational use of hydrocarbons can be organized through the cooperation of gas processing. The backlog of Russian gas processing is described. Currently, global gas processing is in the GTL era. In order to increase the profitability of producing synthetic liquid hydrocarbons, a combination of existing and GTL enterprises is promising. Developments of Russian scientists and world experience allow us to create GTL-production in almost all developed regions of Russia. The conclusion about the possibility and necessity to develop GTL-production is drawn.