Leading natural gas producing countries worldwide 2014-2017

In 2017, the United States was the world's largest natural gas producer in the world, producing 761.1 billion cubic meters. Russia was the second largest natural gas producer, with its 2017 production amounting to nearly 692 billion cubic meters.

Natural gas production

The total volume of natural gas produced worldwide amounted to 3.87 trillion cubic meters in 2018. Although the United States is the world’s largest natural gas producer, it is the fourth largest exporter of natural gas. Accordingly, domestic consumption of natural gas accounts for a large share of U.S. natural gas end use.

U.S. shale gas revolution

Due to recent advances in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) technology and horizontal drilling, shale gas sources in the U.S. have become economically feasible to develop. This has also offset production declines from conventional natural gas sources there. This development has also increased U.S. natural gas reserves considerably. As of 2017, the U.S. produced a total of nearly 19 trillion cubic feet of shale gas.