Natural gas consumption surged by more than 8% in 2010, the fastest growth among fossil fuels and the highest growth since 1984. This trend was primarily driven by the large increase in the United States and Russia, the two largest gas consumers, which had a gas consumption higher than 3.7% and 1.5% in 2010 compared to their pre-crisis level after a strong fall in 2009.
The gas demand in 2010 was also driven by noticeable growth rates in European (7%) and Japanese (8.5%) gas needs.
Among Asian emerging countries, gas demand soared by 18% in China and by 10% in India.
The gas demand declined by 1% in Canada.