ABSTRACT
Natural gas is an abundant resource with broad worldwide distribution. Given its inherent economic and environmental advantages, it may be considered underutilized. This situation is changing dramatically. Natural gas is emerging as a "fuel and raw material of choice" for coming decades, with important implications from a development perspective. North America and Western Europe would be the only areas where economically recoverable natural gas resources would remain in 2020 at maximum demand rates. The total in-place worldwide natural gas resource base, including sources not yet economically producible with technology, is several orders of magnitude greater. The Soviet policy of increased gas production and sales clearly offset any influence of slower international economic growth in the early 1980's. In fact, Soviet gas consumption continued to increase decisively, and it is clear that the other Eastern European countries continued to expand their use of gas rapidly.
