21-10-2025
Шепотинник Елена Александровна
учитель английского языка
Global gas reserves
Text 1. Overview of the global gas market
Read the text, find synonyms of the words highlighted in the text
Differentiate, resource, distant, growing, ecological, boss, devised, reallocation, at the moment (now), ten years, collation, use, burning.
Natural gas is the most environmentally friendly energy carrier of all fossil fuels. It consists of a mixture of hydrocarbons, mainly methane, with small admixtures of other gases. Natural gas emits about 70% less carbon dioxide during combustion than other types of fossil fuels. When used as a fuel, it burns cleaner than fuel oil and leaves no combustion products.
Like oil, natural gas is a popular fuel and the main source of energy for many consumers.
In the structure of global energy consumption, natural gas ranks third after oil and coal and accounts for 25% of total consumption.
Natural gas was first commercially developed in 1825 in the United States, but became the main source of energy worldwide in the 1970s. Today, natural gas is widely used by power plants to generate electricity, in the chemical industry, as fuel in cars, and is also used in everyday life for heating and cooking.
Over the past decades, the role and importance of natural gas in the energy balance of the global economy has been constantly increasing, due to both its high efficiency as an energy resource and raw material for industry, and its increased environmental friendliness in comparison with oil and coal. From 1980 to 2020,
the growth rate of natural gas consumption was 168%, while the growth rate of oil consumption over the same period was 44%, and coal consumption was 102%. On average, gas consumption is growing by 7% per year.
Currently, the world's proven natural gas reserves amount to 138 trillion cubic meters. Russia accounts for the largest share of gas reserves, which is 24%, followed by Iran, 18%, and Qatar closes the top three, 11% of the world's gas reserves.
The main exporters of natural gas. Global gas exports have increased by 78% over the past 20 years, from 528 billion to 940 billion. cubic meters. Russia is the world leader in natural gas exports, with 238 billion exported in 2020. cubic meters of gas, which is 26% of the total export volume.
Russia's share in exports is decreasing year by year, from 40% in 2000 to 26% in 2020. The redistribution of the structure goes towards the United States, which came in second place (an increase in gas exports by 21 times since 2000) and took 15% of world exports, and Middle Eastern countries such as Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia. They account for 14% of world exports, having increased the volume of external supplies by 5.5 times.
Speaking about gas exports, it is important to distinguish two types of exported gas:
Pipeline natural gas – it is in gaseous form and has an ambient temperature.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is in the form of a liquid that is formed by cooling a gaseous fuel. Its volume is 600 times less than that of pipeline gas.
Each of these types has its own transportation characteristics. Pipeline natural gas is delivered to consumers via a network of gas pipelines directly from the gas field. LNG can also be delivered from anywhere using gas tankers by sea and rivers, in automobile tankers, railway and marine tank containers. LNG, in fact, has made the gas market
global, making it possible to export gas from remote regions.
Text 2. How is the price of natural gas formed?
Read the text below, put the missing words in the text.
Used, example, buyer, price, fuels, methanol, power, supply
There are several ways of pricing in the natural gas market:
- Linking to oil prices;
- Netback pricing from end products;
- Spot pricing;
- Prices set as a result of bilateral negotiations between monopolies;
- The cost-based pricing principle;
- Government regulation based on social and political considerations
These models can be used in the same market both in combination and in parallel with each other.
Let's look at them in more detail.
Linking to oil prices. According to this principle, gas prices are linked to the prices of competing fuels. This mechanism ensures an increase in gas prices in accordance with the increase in prices for alternative _____________. Natural gas prices are set in such a way that it is competitive with alternative energy sources. This pricing principle is also called "netback".
Netback pricing from the final product of the service does not seem to be the previous method, but at the same time the price at which the supplier sells gas reflects the price that its buyer receives in the market of its products. For _____________, the price that a gas supplier receives in the electricity sector can be set depending on the price of electricity. This method is usually used in cases where gas acts as a raw material for the chemical industry (for example, in the production of ____________) and at the same time is the main component of variable costs in the production of this product.
Spot pricing – in this case, the price is not set by anyone, but is formed as a result of bidding, based on a mutual agreement between the seller and the ______________, during the interaction of supply and demand. The market price includes an assessment of a product based on demand, _____________, costs, and utility, forming it as a single price. Thus, the cost of production, its exchange rate in relation to other goods, and consumer qualities are reflected in market prices.
Monopoly pricing. An example of this method is when a national oil and gas company deals with one dominant buyer, for example, a state-owned electric _____________ company or 1-2 large industrial consumers. Within the framework of this concept, the price of gas is determined for a certain period of time (usually one year) through bilateral negotiations.
The cost-based pricing principle is a traditional method. Its essence lies in the fact that the price is directly dependent on the costs of production and circulation, representing the costs of production and sale of a unit of goods, expressed in monetary form. Currently, it is practically not ______________.
Government regulation based on social and political considerations. In this model, the gas price is not linked to the cost ______________. In an effort to support the development of the national economy, States set prices for consumers at a level that does not cover these costs or provide subsidies for gas.
Task 1. Translate the following sentences into English:
1. Газовая отрасль стала неотъемлемой частью мировой экономики ввиду того, что газ используется как в бытовых вопросах, так и в промышленности и производстве.
2. Формирование рынков газа очень долгий процесс, поскольку включает в себя большое количество сложных факторов.
3. Страны-участницы мирового рынка газа выбрали разные пути развития, что также отразилось на времени и формировании современных национальных рынков.
4. Различные пути сформировали отличные друг от друга модели поведения национальных рынков.
5. Многие страны предпочли оставить газовую промышленность монополизированной.
Test
1. What kind of fuel, besides natural gas, is the main source of energy for many consumers?
a) coal;
b) peat;
c) oil.
2. In which country was natural gas first commercially developed?
a) Germany;
b) USA;
c) India.
3. How many percent was the growth rate of natural gas consumption from 1980 to 2020?
a) 84%;
b) 152%;
c) 168%.
4. What are the world's gas reserves at the moment?
a) 138 trillion. cubic meters;
b) 200 trillion. cubic meters;
c) 250 trillion. cubic meters.
5. Which country accounts for the largest share of gas?
a) Iran;
b) Qatar;
c) Russian Federation.
6. What are the two types of export gas?
a) expensive and cheap;
b) liquefied and liquid;
c) pipeline and Liquefied natural gas (LNG);
7. Who was the largest importer of natural gas (especially in 2015-2020)?
a) The European Union;
b) China;
c) USA.
8. What has made the gas market global, making it possible to export gas from remote regions?
a) gas pipeline;
b) tanker-gas carrier;
c) liquefied natural gas.
9. What is the principle of natural gas price formation that is practically not used?
a) linking to oil prices;
b) the cost-based pricing principle;
c) government regulation based on social and political considerations.
10. Which of the pricing methods is the most popular?
a) linking to oil prices;
b) spot pricing;
c) the cost-based pricing principle.
Glossary.
Consumption : the use of something (such as fuel). The jet's high fuel consumption makes it expensive to operate.
Combustion "the act of burning, " like the combustion of fallen leaves that, if not extinguished immediately, can result in a forest fire. Combustion derives from the Latin word comburere, which means "to burn up.". Matches, kindling, paper, and lighter fluid can be tools for combustion.
Comparison: the act of looking at things to see how they are similar or different.
Distinguish: to notice or recognize a difference between people or things; to make (someone or something) different or special in some way often + from.
Environmentally friendly is used to refer to goods, services and/or practices considered to inflict little or no harm on the environment.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG), natural gas (primarily methane) that has been liquefied for ease of storing and transporting.
Methanol is a simple enough organic substance that it can be created by inorganic chemical reactions.
Natural gas is a non-renewable hydrocarbon used as a source of energy for heating, cooking, and electricity generation.
Pipeline natural gas means a naturally occurring fluid mixture of hydrocarbons (e.g., methane, ethane, or propane) produced in geological formations beneath the Earth's surface that maintains a gaseous state at standard atmospheric temperature and pressure under ordinary conditions, and which is provided by a supplier through a pipeline.