W o r l d O i l a n d G a s R e v i e w

W o r l d O i l a n d G a s R e v i e w 2 0 0 8

Pro duction / Produzione In 2006 the world production of natural gas grew by 3.5%, reaching 2,929 billion cubic metres (bcm). In 2006, Russia was the leading producer country, with approximately 632 bcm (22% of the world production). The USA ranked second with 515 bcm (18% of the world production) and, far behind, Canada ranked third (185 bcm). Iran, in fourth place with 99 bcm, proved to be among the big producers not only in the oil market, but also in the gas market. Most of the gas production is concentrated in only a few areas and countries. Overall, the top ten countries extract approximately 65.3% of the world total (1,914 bcm in 2006). About 39% of the world s natural gas is produced in just two countries Russia and the USA. Overall, North America (Canada and USA) produced 701 bcm in 2006 (+1.6% compared to 2005) and, according to early estimates, approximately 718 bcm in 2007 (+2.5% compared to 2006). In the last few years, thanks to the start up of production of non-conventional gas fields, this production area considered mature and expected to go into strong decline has been able to keep its level of production stable enough. The Middle East produces approximately 324 bcm (11% of the world total). Natural gas extraction is increasing substantially in these countries (it was only 145 bcm in 1996) pulled by domestic consumption and the growth in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) market. Allowing transport by ship, the LNG supply chain has enabled an area that is rich in resources, yet far from the consumer countries, to access international markets, without requiring the laying of long and expensive gas pipelines. Production continued to decrease in the European Union countries. In 2006 it went down to 214 bcm (-5%), thus confirming the ongoing trend.the drop was particularly sharp in the United Kingdom, where production went from 86 bcm in 2006 to about 78 bcm in 2007. (In 2000, when peak production was recorded, it was 116 bcm). The first ten countries in the world Primi dieci paesi del mondo 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 First 10 countries 1,700.65 1,672.73 1,704.04 1,742.58 1,780.86 1,797.88 1,817.48 1,872.36 1,881.95 1,890.43 1,913.64 Russia 579.06 549.67 569.08 569.18 561.43 559.07 571.93 596.13 607.44 615.22 632.28 United States 528.65 529.82 533.18 527.73 537.26 549.26 529.55 534.31 519.95 505.64 515.48 Canada 161.28 164.20 169.32 172.29 176.94 181.64 182.88 180.29 179.89 183.80 185.32 Iran 42.31 46.77 49.39 56.34 58.98 61.53 69.76 78.94 87.78 97.45 99.01 Algeria 65.59 75.61 80.84 90.80 92.59 87.10 89.64 94.69 93.35 100.22 96.63 Norway 43.85 48.92 49.32 52.64 54.64 58.31 70.56 79.04 83.99 90.98 93.20 United Kingdom 90.51 92.19 96.80 106.38 116.35 113.61 111.40 110.48 103.05 94.01 85.81 Indonesia 73.88 76.53 74.57 80.98 75.19 71.08 75.04 78.75 75.74 74.82 75.04 Netherlands 81.51 72.26 68.71 64.07 61.90 66.45 64.73 62.27 73.45 67.11 66.07 Turkmenistan 34.00 16.74 12.81 22.18 45.57 49.83 51.97 57.47 57.31 61.20 64.81 Rest of the World 572.50 601.57 623.26 654.58 705.85 722.69 761.48 806.99 869.57 938.61 1,015.44 World 2,273.15 2,274.30 2,327.30 2,397.16 2,486.71 2,520.58 2,578.96 2,679.35 2,751.51 2,829.04 2,929.08 1996 World=2,273.15 billion cubic metres 2006 World=2,929.08 billion cubic metres 25.2% 1.5% 3.6% 3.3% 4.0%1.9% 2.9% 1.9% 7.1% 34.7% 2.2% 2.3% 2.6% 2.9%3.2% 3.3% 3.4% 6.3% 25.5% 23.3% 21.6% 17.6% Russia United States Canada Iran Algeria Norway United Kingdom Indonesia Netherlands Turkmenistan Rest of the world 40

Pro duction / Produzione Areas and aggregates Aree e aggregati 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 EUROPE 894.48 859.39 877.13 884.78 884.76 887.07 907.96 935.97 957.26 954.86 963.60 Western and Central Europe 296.76 291.33 289.82 297.25 305.19 309.40 317.10 320.39 329.09 318.62 310.02 Eastern Europe 597.72 568.06 587.31 587.53 579.58 577.67 590.86 615.58 628.17 636.25 653.58 CENTRAL ASIA 93.94 80.07 79.21 92.03 117.56 122.55 127.74 135.36 141.59 150.30 152.91 MIDDLE EAST 145.37 156.89 166.84 182.65 200.05 208.98 232.39 248.99 276.59 299.48 324.30 AFRICA 93.79 105.58 111.57 125.94 138.29 137.68 144.53 158.50 165.34 191.11 208.70 ASIA AND THE PACIFIC 238.21 254.43 258.37 278.13 287.97 288.47 305.24 324.81 339.95 366.25 381.80 AMERICAS 807.36 817.94 834.19 833.62 858.08 875.83 861.09 875.72 870.79 867.03 897.77 North America 689.94 694.03 702.50 700.02 714.20 730.90 712.44 714.59 699.84 689.44 700.80 Latin America 117.42 123.91 131.69 133.61 143.87 144.93 148.65 161.13 170.95 177.60 196.96 WORLD 2,273.15 2,274.30 2,327.30 2,397.16 2,486.71 2,520.58 2,578.96 2,679.35 2,751.51 2,829.04 2,929.08 High income countries 1,108.53 1,115.16 1,129.94 1,147.91 1,185.43 1,210.64 1,217.10 1,238.21 1,250.18 1,245.68 1,274.58 Upper middle income countries 763.56 744.36 768.59 772.55 784.09 784.42 802.84 837.48 862.87 888.82 928.01 Lower middle income countries 302.66 310.79 317.13 356.54 387.13 389.94 418.20 448.67 471.16 520.10 543.88 Low income countries 98.40 103.99 111.64 120.15 130.05 135.57 140.82 154.99 167.30 174.44 182.61 INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS EUROPEAN UNION (27) 250.42 239.90 237.74 241.67 247.55 248.27 243.65 238.31 241.96 224.25 213.58 OECD 1,038.88 1,041.18 1,052.32 1,059.59 1,084.10 1,106.36 1,098.21 1,105.56 1,101.60 1,087.53 1,098.93 OPEC (12) 317.62 340.30 352.58 379.50 396.32 391.23 416.60 444.37 468.57 498.10 521.56 1996 World=2,273.15 billion cubic metres 2006 World=2,929.08 billion cubic metres 13.1% 5.2% 10.6% 6.7% 26.3% 30.4% 22.3% 23.9% 4.1% 6.4% 4.1% 10.5% 5.2% 11.1% 7.1% 13.0% Western and Central Europe Central Asia Africa North America Eastern Europe Middle East Asia and the Pacific Latin America 41

Pro duction / Produzione Countries Paesi 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 EUROPE 894.48 859.39 877.13 884.78 884.76 887.07 907.96 935.97 957.26 954.86 963.60 Albania 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02 Austria 1.51 1.45 1.59 1.76 1.83 1.75 1.91 2.12 1.99 1.67 1.86 1.89 Belorussia 0.25 0.24 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.24 0.25 0.24 0.23 0.23 Bulgaria 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.32 0.46 0.44 Croatia 1.74 1.67 1.53 1.51 1.62 1.96 2.07 2.13 2.14 2.22 2.08 Czech Republic 0.22 0.19 0.20 0.21 0.20 0.15 0.14 0.16 0.19 0.18 0.16 0.16 Denmark 6.81 8.40 8.15 8.38 8.84 9.05 9.07 8.59 10.13 11.19 11.12 9.85 France 2.87 2.54 2.19 1.99 1.79 1.80 1.73 1.53 1.32 0.99 1.22 1.04 Germany 19.47 19.18 18.69 19.93 18.84 19.00 19.07 18.99 17.57 16.96 16.76 15.35 Greece 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.00 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.04 0.04 Hungary 4.29 4.01 3.54 3.13 2.95 2.95 2.81 2.73 2.82 2.78 2.84 2.33 Ireland 2.59 2.27 1.68 1.32 1.14 0.78 0.81 0.65 0.82 0.55 0.49 0.46 Italy (*) 19.57 18.82 18.57 17.07 16.25 14.89 14.29 13.56 12.66 11.79 10.73 9.49 Netherlands 81.51 72.26 68.71 64.07 61.90 66.45 64.73 62.27 73.45 67.11 66.07 65.18 Norway 43.85 48.92 49.32 52.64 54.64 58.31 70.56 79.04 83.99 90.98 93.20 95.54 Poland 3.74 3.82 3.87 3.70 3.95 4.16 4.26 4.31 4.68 4.63 4.57 4.57 Romania 16.42 14.20 13.30 13.35 13.08 12.86 12.64 12.44 12.38 11.57 11.30 Russia 579.06 549.67 569.08 569.18 561.43 559.07 571.93 596.13 607.44 615.22 632.28 627.22 Serbia and Montenegro 0.53 0.57 0.65 0.69 0.74 0.54 0.43 0.35 0.31 0.27 0.27 Slovakia 0.29 0.26 0.24 0.20 0.16 0.18 0.17 0.20 0.17 0.15 0.12 0.12 Slovenia 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Spain 0.51 0.19 0.12 0.16 0.18 0.56 0.56 0.24 0.37 0.17 0.06 0.01 Turkey 0.20 0.25 0.55 0.72 0.63 0.31 0.37 0.55 0.68 0.88 0.88 0.87 Ukraine 18.42 18.14 17.97 18.10 17.89 18.34 18.69 19.20 20.49 20.80 21.08 United Kingdom 90.51 92.19 96.80 106.38 116.35 113.61 111.40 110.48 103.05 94.01 85.81 77.80 CENTRAL ASIA 93.94 80.07 79.21 92.03 117.56 122.55 127.74 135.36 141.59 150.30 152.91 Azerbaijan 6.09 5.76 5.59 6.00 5.66 5.35 4.97 4.96 5.00 5.43 6.17 Georgia 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.07 0.04 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.01 Kazakhstan 6.31 7.84 7.68 9.95 11.55 11.62 14.12 16.61 21.87 25.19 25.66 Kyrgyzstan 0.03 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 Tajikistan 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 Turkmenistan 34.00 16.74 12.81 22.18 45.57 49.83 51.97 57.47 57.31 61.20 64.81 Uzbekistan 47.46 49.65 53.08 53.85 54.64 55.63 56.61 56.25 57.34 58.42 56.20 MIDDLE EAST 145.37 156.89 166.84 182.65 200.05 208.98 232.39 248.99 276.59 299.48 324.30 Bahrain 5.00 5.23 5.65 5.80 5.93 6.23 6.56 6.76 6.98 7.45 7.73 Iran 42.31 46.77 49.39 56.34 58.98 61.53 69.76 78.94 87.78 97.45 99.01 Iraq 3.16 2.97 2.87 3.10 3.07 2.69 2.24 1.52 2.53 2.58 3.16 Israel 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 1.12 1.54 1.54 Jordan 0.25 0.27 0.27 0.26 0.25 0.25 0.22 0.25 0.26 0.21 0.21 Kuwait 9.21 9.19 9.37 8.58 9.11 8.92 8.00 9.32 10.03 11.25 14.96 Oman 4.77 5.56 6.06 6.62 10.60 15.82 17.14 18.80 19.14 21.38 30.70 Qatar 9.11 12.60 15.06 22.84 27.35 28.19 30.96 32.94 40.02 42.44 48.29 Saudi Arabia 34.08 35.20 37.02 36.95 40.80 42.35 49.48 51.04 55.45 60.93 64.62 Syria 2.84 4.41 5.70 5.84 5.90 5.40 6.57 6.62 6.86 7.06 6.09 United Arab Emirates 34.63 34.69 35.41 36.34 38.06 37.60 41.45 42.79 46.43 47.19 48.00 (*) The figures differ from those published in the Italian National Energy Balance because of the different calorific content of a cubic metre. To arrive at the figures from the national source, in cubic metres, multiply the production by 1.02362. I dati differiscono da quelli pubblicati nel Bilancio Energetico Nazionale Italiano a causa del diverso contenuto calorifico del metro cubo. Per ricondursi ai dati, in metri cubi, di fonte nazionale è sufficiente moltiplicare la produzione per il coefficiente 1,02362. 42

Pro duction / Produzione Countries Paesi 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 AFRICA 93.79 105.58 111.57 125.94 138.29 137.68 144.53 158.50 165.34 191.11 208.70 Algeria 65.59 75.61 80.84 90.80 92.59 87.10 89.64 94.69 93.35 100.22 96.63 Angola 0.55 0.55 0.57 0.55 0.57 0.52 0.60 0.63 0.73 0.73 0.78 Côte d Ivoire 0.45 0.73 0.90 1.51 1.51 1.52 1.54 1.36 1.49 1.66 1.66 Egypt 12.69 13.01 13.39 16.96 21.22 22.60 27.61 31.12 33.62 48.20 58.69 Gabon 0.13 0.13 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.10 0.11 0.11 0.13 0.13 0.13 Libya 6.25 6.40 6.20 5.07 5.73 6.02 6.05 6.23 7.85 11.40 15.20 Morocco 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.46 0.46 Mozambique 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.34 2.23 2.67 Nigeria 5.32 5.56 5.96 7.02 12.59 15.06 14.35 20.52 22.03 21.43 27.72 Senegal 0.05 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02 South Africa 1.84 1.64 1.38 1.81 1.67 2.17 2.15 1.29 1.98 2.13 1.93 Tanzania 0.13 0.14 0.14 Tunisia 0.91 1.88 2.15 2.06 2.25 2.55 2.43 2.48 2.63 2.38 2.67 ASIA AND THE PACIFIC 238.21 254.43 258.37 278.13 287.97 288.47 305.24 324.81 339.95 366.25 381.80 Australia 30.60 30.48 31.68 32.80 34.04 34.73 36.19 37.34 38.17 42.26 44.55 46.06 Bangladesh 7.03 6.91 7.47 8.14 8.80 9.85 10.36 11.15 11.99 12.89 13.81 Brunei 11.07 11.07 10.38 10.81 11.29 11.40 11.46 12.36 12.24 11.93 12.71 China 20.08 22.66 23.23 25.15 27.15 30.27 32.60 34.95 42.10 50.85 58.60 68.11 India 19.77 22.48 23.46 25.03 25.04 25.05 27.35 28.12 27.95 28.44 28.73 29.34 Indonesia 73.88 76.53 74.57 80.98 75.19 71.08 75.04 78.75 75.74 74.82 75.04 Japan 2.42 2.53 2.52 2.53 2.73 2.71 3.00 3.10 3.21 3.41 3.70 4.16 Malaysia 36.61 41.69 42.14 43.70 50.76 49.40 50.95 53.32 55.43 62.40 62.64 Myanmar 1.58 1.70 2.78 4.65 6.17 6.26 6.49 7.87 10.76 11.73 12.09 New Zealand 5.24 5.62 4.95 5.74 6.03 6.35 6.03 4.60 4.12 3.81 3.92 4.24 Pakistan 16.35 16.26 16.93 18.75 19.88 20.78 21.28 26.42 28.69 30.04 31.02 Philippines 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.14 1.70 2.59 2.39 3.17 2.89 South Korea 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.52 0.49 Taiwan 0.87 0.82 0.84 0.82 0.71 0.81 0.85 0.79 0.75 0.52 0.44 Thailand 12.38 15.08 16.43 17.90 18.83 18.31 19.18 20.21 20.90 22.07 22.67 Vietnam 0.33 0.59 0.99 1.12 1.33 1.34 2.76 3.23 5.50 7.40 8.51 AMERICAS 807.36 817.94 834.19 833.62 858.08 875.83 861.09 875.72 870.79 867.03 897.77 Argentina 27.79 30.60 32.32 36.16 40.19 39.95 38.37 42.66 43.93 43.21 45.25 Bolivia 3.68 3.57 3.48 2.85 3.71 5.25 6.24 5.48 9.97 11.91 13.18 Brazil 5.54 6.15 6.45 6.86 7.13 7.36 9.44 10.20 10.78 11.01 11.18 Canada 161.28 164.20 169.32 172.29 176.94 181.64 182.88 180.29 179.89 183.80 185.32 180.34 Chile 1.77 1.93 1.74 1.98 2.09 2.10 2.15 1.89 1.88 2.11 2.81 Colombia 4.66 5.82 6.65 5.84 6.51 6.91 6.90 6.61 6.96 7.30 7.87 Cuba 0.02 0.04 0.12 0.45 0.56 0.58 0.57 0.64 0.69 0.73 0.79 Ecuador 0.35 0.32 0.33 0.31 0.34 0.34 0.34 0.57 0.50 0.54 0.87 Mexico 32.68 33.70 36.39 36.85 37.39 37.68 38.64 40.50 42.33 44.01 49.56 57.00 Peru 0.50 0.38 0.45 0.58 0.53 0.55 0.60 0.66 1.03 1.74 1.96 Trinidad and Tobago 6.88 7.20 8.45 10.78 13.14 14.05 16.37 24.91 26.26 27.36 35.34 United States 528.65 529.82 533.18 527.73 537.26 549.26 529.55 534.31 519.95 505.64 515.48 537.62 Venezuela 33.55 34.22 35.30 30.95 32.29 30.17 29.04 27.01 26.63 27.67 28.16 43

Reserves / Riserve During 2007 gas reserves remained fairly stable compared to 2006, totalling 181.9 thousand billion cubic metres (Tcm). In spite of constantly increasing consumption, gas reserves have grown over time. From 2000 to now, they have increased from 156.8 Tcm to 181.9 Tcm (+25.1 Tcm), while approximately 21.7 Tcm of natural gas has been extracted in the same period. This means that, on average, more than double the quantity that has been extracted has been added to the reserves every year. Therefore, just like oil, natural gas reserves are not a static and certain variable, but rather one that is dynamic and little known and does not necessarily fall over time. Indeed, their value may grow when new discoveries are made. Moreover, only a part of the underground resources that are technically recoverable i.e. those that are considered profitable at the current prices of natural gas are recorded as reserves. It should be emphasized that no statistical source has ever reported the value of natural gas reserves updated at current prices after 2000, so that the actual amount of reserves should be considered underestimated. To summarize, a sharp increase in prices like the present one or the development of new technologies that allow cheaper extraction could lead to the decision to put into production fields that were previously considered technologically difficult or not economically viable. In this case the expected production of natural gas is shifted from resources to reserves, thus increasing the total volume of the latter. The problem with gas reserves is that they are highly concentrated in a few countries. The top ten countries hold 76% of the total. Russia leads in first place with 26.3%, followed by Iran and Qatar with 14.8% and 14% respectively. These top three countries alone hold 55% of the world s gas reserves. In the period from January 1 st 2000 to January 1 st 2008, the Middle East was the area where the greatest increase in reserves was recorded (+17.9 Tcm on a world total of +25.1 Tcm), followed by Africa with +3.2 Tcm. In terms of individual countries, the greatest increase in reserves occurred in Qatar (+14.3 Tcm) and Nigeria (+1.8 Tcm). Natural gas reserves have also increased in the USA, one of the production areas that has been known and exploited for a longer period of time. Here production climbed from 4.7 Tcm as of January 1 st 2000 to 6.2 Tcm on January 1 st 2008 (+1.5 Tcm or +30% over the entire period). As for production, these figures also show vitality in the gas upstream sector in the USA, which counters the widespread pessimism at the start of the new millennium. The first ten countries in the world (billion cubic metres as at 1 st January) Primi dieci paesi del mondo (miliardi di metri cubi al 1 gennaio) 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 First 10 countries 108,895 110,872 110,725 114,522 115,410 120,352 132,837 134,358 136,496 136,570 136,896 138,256 138,415 Russia 48,900 48,900 48,240 48,080 46,900 46,700 46,800 47,000 48,000 47,800 47,820 47,814 47,814 Iran 20,990 23,000 23,000 24,200 25,000 26,000 26,100 26,690 27,570 27,500 27,495 27,575 26,845 Qatar 8,500 8,500 8,500 10,900 11,157 14,443 25,783 25,783 25,783 25,783 25,636 25,636 25,490 Saudi Arabia 5,383 5,410 5,695 5,777 6,146 6,301 6,456 6,646 6,754 6,834 6,900 7,154 7,546 United States 4,676 4,714 4,735 4,645 4,740 5,024 5,195 5,294 5,353 5,451 5,787 5,977 6,173 United Arab Emirates 5,859 5,784 6,063 5,996 5,995 5,994 6,058 6,054 6,047 6,083 6,115 6,111 6,111 Venezuela 4,063 4,049 4,121 4,148 4,155 4,152 4,180 4,181 4,219 4,287 4,315 5,100 5,565 Nigeria 3,474 3,475 3,483 3,511 3,512 4,106 4,633 4,997 5,055 5,117 5,154 5,215 5,275 Algeria 3,690 3,680 3,700 4,077 4,520 4,523 4,523 4,523 4,545 4,545 4,504 4,504 4,428 Iraq 3,360 3,360 3,188 3,188 3,285 3,109 3,109 3,190 3,170 3,170 3,170 3,170 3,170 Rest of the World 40,500 41,372 42,528 41,589 41,370 42,053 42,963 42,659 42,220 41,973 42,743 43,558 43,531 World 149,395 152,244 153,253 156,111 156,780 162,405 175,800 177,017 178,716 178,543 179,639 181,814 181,945 1996 World=149,395 billion cubic metres as at 1 st January 2008 World=181,945 billion cubic metres as at 1 st January 27.1% 2.2% 2.5% 2.3% 2.7% 3.9% 3.1% 3.6% 5.7% 23.9% 1.7% 2.4% 2.9% 3.1% 3.4% 3.4% 4.1% 14.0% 32.7% 14.1% 26.3% 14.8% Russia Iran Qatar Saudi Arabia United States United Arab Emirates Venezuela Nigeria Algeria Iraq Rest of the world 44

Reserves / Riserve Areas and aggregates (billion cubic metres as at 1 st January) Aree e aggregati (miliardi di metri cubi al 1 gennaio) 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EUROPE 57,103 57,021 56,997 56,869 56,171 55,811 55,706 55,528 55,808 55,417 55,519 55,255 55,025 West. and Central Europe 7,113 7,031 7,667 7,624 8,116 7,961 7,756 7,378 6,663 6,467 6,559 6,301 6,071 Eastern Europe 49,990 49,990 49,330 49,245 48,055 47,850 47,950 48,150 49,145 48,950 48,960 48,954 48,954 CENTRAL ASIA 7,636 7,636 7,636 7,488 8,056 8,166 8,166 8,226 8,216 8,216 8,206 8,226 8,226 MIDDLE EAST 46,852 49,002 49,343 52,976 54,742 59,145 70,775 71,641 72,640 72,544 72,488 73,031 72,579 AFRICA 9,935 10,148 10,255 10,778 11,439 12,464 13,134 13,782 13,925 14,118 14,280 14,493 14,528 ASIA AND THE PACIFIC 13,268 13,957 14,440 14,313 12,235 12,395 13,316 13,513 13,925 13,816 14,452 15,150 15,052 AMERICAS 14,601 14,479 14,581 13,687 14,137 14,424 14,703 14,327 14,202 14,432 14,694 15,659 16,535 North America 6,605 6,555 6,544 6,393 6,459 6,707 6,889 6,968 6,956 7,051 7,427 7,625 7,828 Latin America 7,996 7,924 8,037 7,294 7,678 7,717 7,814 7,359 7,246 7,381 7,267 8,034 8,707 WORLD 149,395 152,244 153,253 156,111 156,780 162,405 175,800 177,017 178,716 178,543 179,639 181,814 181,945 High income countries 38,252 38,429 39,740 42,108 42,100 45,832 57,863 57,638 57,028 56,856 56,960 57,357 57,571 Up. middle inc. countries 62,512 62,577 62,097 60,959 60,152 59,811 60,007 59,976 60,871 60,430 60,887 61,689 62,414 Low. middle inc. countries 40,135 42,654 42,818 44,427 45,774 47,246 47,701 48,671 49,842 50,076 50,369 51,249 50,530 Low income countries 8,496 8,583 8,597 8,617 8,754 9,516 10,229 10,732 10,975 11,181 11,423 11,519 11,429 INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS EUROPEAN UNION (27) 4,001 3,918 3,905 3,749 4,219 4,042 3,843 3,637 3,403 3,229 3,368 3,197 3,086 OECD 18,243 18,268 18,940 17,841 17,204 17,386 17,810 17,016 16,358 16,069 16,222 16,195 16,130 OPEC (12) 61,675 63,957 64,611 68,292 69,246 74,376 86,539 87,975 89,245 89,421 89,391 90,665 90,555 1996 World=149,395 billion cubic metres as at 1 st January 2008 World=181, 945 billion cubic metres as at 1 st January 33.5% 4.8% 5.4% 4.4% 8.9% 6.7% 26.9% 3.3% 4.8% 4.3% 8.3% 8.0% 4.5% 5.1% 31.4% 39.9% Western and Central Europe Central Asia Africa North America Eastern Europe Middle East Asia and the Pacific Latin America 45

Reserves / Riserve Countries (billion cubic metres as at 1 st January) Paesi (miliardi di metri cubi al 1 gennaio) 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EUROPE 57,103 57,021 56,997 56,869 56,171 55,811 55,706 55,528 55,808 55,417 55,519 55,255 55,025 Albania 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Austria 22 22 24 26 26 26 24 23 20 20 21 20 20 Belorussia 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 Bulgaria 4 5 6 6 6 6 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 Croatia 37 37 34 34 34 29 31 25 24 28 30 30 29 Czech Republic 19 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 Denmark 179 158 137 123 142 144 141 129 136 132 122 120 118 France 19 14 14 11 10 8 10 10 9 7 7 7 7 Germany 220 211 263 260 270 264 237 224 207 191 178 155 155 Greece 9 9 9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Hungary 93 88 84 35 30 32 34 30 28 23 23 20 20 Ireland 22 21 20 15 30 34 34 32 29 25 25 24 24 Italy (*) 305 278 229 222 208 199 183 172 135 125 117 94 84 Moldova 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 Netherlands 1,815 1,765 1,787 1,771 1,714 1,655 1,616 1,567 1,492 1,449 1,387 1,316 1,316 Norway 3,000 3,001 3,654 3,785 3,808 3,841 3,833 3,667 3,188 3,159 3,108 3,022 2,905 Poland 153 160 155 141 146 119 115 116 110 109 106 103 103 Romania 407 389 374 360 348 335 322 311 305 295 628 628 628 Russia 48,900 48,900 48,240 48,080 46,900 46,700 46,800 47,000 48,000 47,800 47,820 47,814 47,814 Serbia and Montenegro 47 47 46 45 44 43 43 43 42 42 41 40 40 Slovakia 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 14 14 14 14 Slovenia 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Spain 17 17 17 2 2 1 1 0 3 3 3 3 3 Turkey 26 26 26 9 9 4 4 4 4 7 10 10 10 Ukraine 1,050 1,050 1,050 1,125 1,115 1,110 1,110 1,110 1,105 1,110 1,100 1,100 1,100 United Kingdom 700 760 765 755 1,265 1,197 1,100 998 905 826 728 684 585 CENTRAL ASIA 7,636 7,636 7,636 7,488 8,056 8,166 8,166 8,226 8,216 8,216 8,206 8,226 8,226 Armenia 176 176 176 176 176 176 176 176 176 176 176 176 176 Azerbaijan 900 900 900 900 1,370 1,370 1,370 1,370 1,350 1,350 1,350 1,350 1,350 Georgia 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 Kazakhstan 1,840 1,840 1,840 1,840 1,840 1,840 1,840 1,900 1,900 1,900 1,900 1,900 1,900 Kyrgyzstan 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 Tajikistan 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 Turkmenistan 2,900 2,900 2,900 2,770 2,850 2,860 2,860 2,860 2,860 2,860 2,860 2,860 2,860 Uzbekistan 1,750 1,750 1,750 1,732 1,750 1,850 1,850 1,850 1,860 1,860 1,850 1,870 1,870 MIDDLE EAST 46,852 49,002 49,343 52,976 54,742 59,145 70,775 71,641 72,640 72,544 72,488 73,031 72,579 Bahrain 147 142 142 142 118 110 110 110 92 90 90 90 90 Iran 20,990 23,000 23,000 24,200 25,000 26,000 26,100 26,690 27,570 27,500 27,495 27,575 26,845 Iraq 3,360 3,360 3,188 3,188 3,285 3,109 3,109 3,190 3,170 3,170 3,170 3,170 3,170 Israel 1 1 1 1 2 45 45 45 47 47 45 45 45 Jordan 5 5 5 5 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 5 5 Kuwait 1,494 1,489 1,490 1,482 1,482 1,557 1,557 1,557 1,572 1,572 1,572 1,780 1,813 Oman 453 597 542 568 830 859 830 830 830 690 690 690 690 Qatar 8,500 8,500 8,500 10,900 11,157 14,443 25,783 25,783 25,783 25,783 25,636 25,636 25,490 Saudi Arabia 5,383 5,410 5,695 5,777 6,146 6,301 6,456 6,646 6,754 6,834 6,900 7,154 7,546 Syria 235 235 238 238 241 241 241 250 290 290 290 290 290 United Arab Emirates 5,859 5,784 6,063 5,996 5,995 5,994 6,058 6,054 6,047 6,083 6,115 6,111 6,111 Yemen 425 479 479 479 479 479 479 479 479 479 479 485 485 (*) Since 2007 natural gas in storage facilities is not included. A partire dal 2007 l ammontare delle riserve non comprende il gas dei campi di stoccaggio. 46

Reserves / Riserve Countries (billion cubic metres as at 1 st January) Paesi (miliardi di metri cubi al 1 gennaio) 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 AFRICA 9,935 10,148 10,255 10,778 11,439 12,464 13,134 13,782 13,925 14,118 14,280 14,493 14,528 Algeria 3,690 3,680 3,700 4,077 4,520 4,523 4,523 4,523 4,545 4,545 4,504 4,504 4,428 Angola 49 48 46 48 60 269 269 269 269 270 270 270 270 Benin 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Cameroon 110 110 110 110 102 102 102 102 100 100 230 230 281 Congo 90 90 90 122 122 122 122 120 117 115 130 130 130 Côte d Ivoire 30 28 30 30 30 30 30 29 28 26 25 25 25 Dem. Rep. Congo 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Egypt 645 849 927 1,020 1,223 1,433 1,557 1,657 1,756 1,869 1,895 2,047 2,047 Equatorial Guinea 39 39 39 38 37 48 70 70 70 96 96 99 99 Ethiopia 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 Gabon 34 34 34 33 33 33 33 33 32 30 30 30 30 Ghana 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 Libya 1,313 1,311 1,315 1,315 1,314 1,314 1,314 1,503 1,491 1,491 1,491 1,491 1,491 Madagascar 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Morocco 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Mozambique 57 57 57 62 62 62 62 62 62 62 61 61 61 Namibia 57 85 85 85 85 85 85 85 70 70 70 70 70 Nigeria 3,474 3,475 3,483 3,511 3,512 4,106 4,633 4,997 5,055 5,117 5,154 5,215 5,275 Rwanda 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 Senegal 6 10 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 Somalia 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 South Africa 25 23 22 20 19 17 15 13 11 10 10 9 9 Sudan 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 Tanzania 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 Tunisia 86 78 76 65 78 78 77 77 77 75 72 70 70 ASIA AND THE PACIFIC 13,268 13,957 14,440 14,313 12,235 12,395 13,316 13,513 13,925 13,816 14,452 15,150 15,052 Afghanistan 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Australia 3,010 3,260 3,280 3,310 2,105 2,203 2,667 2,528 2,594 2,403 2,429 2,485 2,455 Bangladesh 272 289 297 297 323 306 340 340 433 422 407 392 392 Brunei 400 400 391 382 374 366 356 350 345 343 340 331 331 China 1,070 1,120 1,199 1,250 1,375 1,515 1,679 1,753 1,823 2,020 2,270 3,000 3,000 India 686 675 665 650 650 760 763 751 854 923 1,101 1,075 1,075 Indonesia 3,500 3,851 4,010 3,650 2,620 2,608 2,557 2,582 2,770 2,769 2,769 2,659 2,553 Japan 30 31 41 40 40 40 40 40 40 39 39 39 39 Malaysia 2,271 2,260 2,464 2,410 2,476 2,337 2,480 2,520 2,464 2,272 2,480 2,480 2,745 Myanmar 268 282 283 285 287 287 345 445 405 485 485 515 515 New Zealand 68 63 75 72 59 57 65 65 63 63 62 58 68 Pakistan 604 589 595 612 702 677 745 760 790 798 852 865 865 Papua New Guinea 428 428 428 428 428 428 428 428 428 428 428 435 285 Philippines 161 161 161 161 105 105 105 105 105 104 95 95 95 Taiwan 77 76 76 76 76 76 75 75 73 73 71 70 52 Thailand 176 201 205 420 345 360 378 441 418 354 304 331 262 Vietnam 147 171 170 170 170 170 193 230 220 220 220 220 220 AMERICAS 14,601 14,479 14,581 13,687 14,137 14,424 14,703 14,327 14,202 14,432 14,694 15,659 16,535 Argentina 619 688 684 687 729 778 764 664 612 542 439 446 416 Barbados 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 Bolivia 127 125 118 150 518 675 775 813 782 757 740 740 817 Brazil 154 158 161 228 231 221 223 245 245 326 306 348 395 Canada 1,929 1,841 1,809 1,748 1,719 1,683 1,694 1,674 1,603 1,600 1,640 1,648 1,655 Chile 103 101 98 96 95 94 93 45 45 45 43 42 42 Colombia 340 214 221 195 188 129 128 120 114 119 113 123 134 Cuba 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 17 17 17 17 17 Ecuador 106 105 103 103 29 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 Guatemala 0 0 0 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 0 0 Mexico 1,916 1,810 1,797 851 861 835 797 424 421 419 412 392 373 Peru 201 200 199 255 246 245 247 247 247 325 338 335 458 Trinidad and Tobago 349 456 517 560 605 557 576 589 532 532 530 480 480 United States 4,676 4,714 4,735 4,645 4,740 5,024 5,195 5,294 5,353 5,451 5,787 5,977 6,173 Venezuela 4,063 4,049 4,121 4,148 4,155 4,152 4,180 4,181 4,219 4,287 4,315 5,100 5,565 47

Reserves/ pro duction ratios / Rapporto riserve su produzione In 2006 the ratio between natural gas reserves and annual production fell to 61 years from 63 in 2005. Although reserves have increased in recent years, the reserves/production ratio has constantly diminished starting from 2002 (when it topped 68 years), due to high increase in production (the ratio s denominator), which was in turn pulled by consumption. Indeed, logic would suggest that this ratio also called residual life of reserves decreased over time: the annual extraction of natural gas reduces reserves (the ratio s numerator), while the rate of production (the ratio s denominator) increases over time. But if we look at the past trend of this ratio, we realize that this has not always been the case. In fact, from 1996 to 2006 the index has alternatively gone down and up varying within an interval of 61-68 years although in this period the production of natural gas has increased by 29% (from 2,273 billion cubic metres (bcm) to 2,929). This pattern indicates that in some periods not only has it been possible to replace the reserves used every year, but that new reserves have been added, so as to increase their life indexes or keep them unchanged, in spite of high growth in production. Iran stands out among major natural-gas producing countries that have high life indexes of reserves, with 278 years, followed by Russia (76 years), Algeria and Turkmenistan (47 and 44 years, respectively). In the USA (the world largest consumer country) the ratio has risen over the last few years (from 9 years in 2000 to 11 years in 2006), revealing unexpected vitality in one of the production areas that have been known for longer and have been more intensively exploited. The first ten countries in the world (years) Primi dieci paesi del mondo (anni) 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Iran 496 492 466 430 424 423 374 338 314 282 278 Russia 84 89 85 84 84 84 82 79 79 78 76 Algeria 56 49 46 45 49 52 50 48 49 45 47 Turkmenistan 85 173 226 125 63 57 55 50 50 47 44 Indonesia 47 50 54 45 35 37 34 33 37 37 37 Norway 68 61 74 72 70 66 54 46 38 35 33 Netherlands 22 24 26 28 28 25 25 25 20 22 21 United States 9 9 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 11 11 Canada 12 11 11 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 United Kingdom 8 8 8 7 11 11 10 9 9 9 8 1996 2006 Iran Russia Algeria Turkmenistan Indonesia Norway Netherlands United States Canada United Kingdom Iran Russia Algeria Turkmenistan Indonesia Norway Netherlands United States Canada United Kingdom 0 100 200 300 400 500 0 100 200 300 400 500 48

Reserves/ pro duction rat ios / Rapporto riserve su produzione Areas and aggregates (years) Aree e aggregati (anni) 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 EUROPE 64 66 65 64 63 63 61 59 58 58 58 Western and Central Europe 24 24 26 26 27 26 24 23 20 20 21 Eastern Europe 84 88 84 84 83 83 81 78 78 77 75 CENTRAL ASIA 81 95 96 81 69 67 64 61 58 55 54 MIDDLE EAST 322 312 296 290 274 283 305 288 263 242 224 AFRICA 106 96 92 86 83 91 91 87 84 74 68 ASIA AND THE PACIFIC 56 55 56 51 42 43 44 42 41 38 38 AMERICAS 18 18 17 16 16 16 17 16 16 17 16 North America 10 9 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 11 Latin America 68 64 61 55 53 53 53 46 42 42 37 WORLD 66 67 66 65 63 64 68 66 65 63 61 High income countries 35 34 35 37 36 38 48 47 46 46 45 Upper middle income countries 82 84 81 79 77 76 75 72 71 68 66 Lower middle income countries 133 137 135 125 118 121 114 108 106 96 93 Low income countries 86 83 77 72 67 70 73 69 66 64 63 INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS EUROPEAN UNION (27) 16 16 16 16 17 16 16 15 14 14 16 OECD 18 18 18 17 16 16 16 15 15 15 15 OPEC (12) 194 188 183 180 175 190 208 198 190 180 171 1996 2006 World Middle East Eastern Europe Africa Central Asia Asia & Pacific Latin America Western and Central Europe North America World Middle East Eastern Europe Africa Central Asia Asia & Pacific Latin America Western and Central Europe North America 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 49

Reserves/ pro duction ratios / Rapporto riserve su produzione Countries (years) Paesi (anni) 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 EUROPE 64 66 65 64 63 63 61 59 58 58 58 Austria 15 15 15 15 14 15 13 11 10 12 11 11 Croatia 21 22 22 23 21 15 15 12 11 13 14 Denmark 26 19 17 15 16 16 16 15 13 12 11 12 France 7 6 6 6 6 4 6 7 7 7 6 7 Germany 11 11 14 13 14 14 12 12 12 11 11 10 Hungary 22 22 24 11 10 11 12 11 10 8 8 8 Ireland 9 9 12 11 26 43 42 49 35 45 51 52 Italy 16 15 12 13 13 13 13 13 11 11 11 10 Netherlands 22 24 26 28 28 25 25 25 20 22 21 20 Norway 68 61 74 72 70 66 54 46 38 35 33 32 Poland 41 42 40 38 37 29 27 27 23 24 23 23 Romania 25 27 28 27 27 26 25 25 25 25 56 Russia 84 89 85 84 84 84 82 79 79 78 76 76 Turkey 128 105 47 13 14 13 11 7 6 8 11 11 Ukraine 57 58 58 62 62 61 59 58 54 53 52 United Kingdom 8 8 8 7 11 11 10 9 9 9 8 9 CENTRAL ASIA 81 95 96 81 69 67 64 61 58 55 54 Azerbaijan 148 156 161 150 242 256 276 276 270 249 219 Kazakhstan 292 235 240 185 159 158 130 114 87 75 74 Turkmenistan 85 173 226 125 63 57 55 50 50 47 44 Uzbekistan 37 35 33 32 32 33 33 33 32 32 33 MIDDLE EAST 322 312 296 290 274 283 305 288 263 242 224 Bahrain 29 27 25 24 20 18 17 16 13 12 12 Iran 496 492 466 430 424 423 374 338 314 282 278 Kuwait 162 162 159 173 163 175 195 167 157 140 105 Oman 95 107 89 86 78 54 48 44 43 32 22 Qatar 933 675 564 477 408 512 833 783 644 608 531 Saudi Arabia 158 154 154 156 151 149 130 130 122 112 107 Syria 83 53 42 41 41 45 37 38 42 41 48 United Arab Emirates 169 167 171 165 158 159 146 141 130 129 127 AFRICA 106 96 92 86 83 91 91 87 84 74 68 Algeria 56 49 46 45 49 52 50 48 49 45 47 Angola 90 87 81 88 106 521 446 425 368 370 347 Côte d Ivoire 67 38 33 20 20 20 19 21 19 16 15 Egypt 51 65 69 60 58 63 56 53 52 39 32 Libya 210 205 212 260 229 218 217 241 190 131 98 Morocco 60 32 30 25 22 22 23 24 19 2 2 Mozambique 46 28 23 Nigeria 653 625 584 500 279 273 323 244 229 239 186 South Africa 14 14 16 11 11 8 7 10 6 5 5 Tunisia 94 42 35 32 35 31 32 31 29 32 27 50

Reserves/ pro duction rat ios / Rapporto riserve su produzione Countries (years) Paesi (anni) 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 ASIA AND THE PACIFIC 56 55 56 51 42 43 44 42 41 38 38 Australia 98 107 104 101 62 63 74 68 68 57 55 54 Bangladesh 39 42 40 36 37 31 33 30 36 33 29 Brunei 36 36 38 35 33 32 31 28 28 29 27 China 53 49 52 50 51 50 52 50 43 40 39 44 India 35 30 28 26 26 30 28 27 31 32 38 37 Indonesia 47 50 54 45 35 37 34 33 37 37 37 Japan 12 12 16 16 15 15 13 13 12 11 11 9 Malaysia 62 54 58 55 49 47 49 47 44 36 40 Myanmar 170 166 102 61 46 46 53 57 38 41 40 New Zealand 13 11 15 13 10 9 11 14 15 17 16 14 Pakistan 37 36 35 33 35 33 35 29 28 27 27 Taiwan 89 93 90 93 107 94 89 95 98 Thailand 14 13 12 23 18 20 20 22 20 16 13 Vietnam 172 151 127 127 70 71 40 30 26 AMERICAS 18 18 17 16 16 16 17 16 16 17 16 Argentina 22 22 21 19 18 19 20 16 14 13 10 Bolivia 34 35 34 53 140 129 124 148 78 64 56 Brazil 28 26 25 33 32 30 24 24 23 30 27 Canada 12 11 11 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 Chile 58 52 56 49 45 45 43 24 24 21 15 Colombia 73 37 33 33 29 19 19 18 16 16 14 Mexico 59 54 49 23 23 22 21 10 10 10 8 7 Trinidad and Tobago 51 63 61 52 46 40 35 24 20 19 15 United States 9 9 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 11 11 11 Venezuela 121 118 117 134 129 138 144 155 158 155 153 51

Consumption / C o ns um o In 2006 natural gas consumption rose to approximately 2,889 billion cubic metres (bcm), with a 2.6% increase compared to the previous year. According to preliminary estimates, the increase in world gas consumption should be close to if not over 3% in 2007. In 2006 all areas reported a more or less significant yearly growth of natural gas consumption. Major increases were recorded in the Middle East (+8.6%) and in the Asia and Pacific areas (+7.0%). Compared to the year before, in 2006 North America (Canada and the USA) recorded a substantial consumption stability (approximately 699 bcm). From 2001 to 2006, the natural gas demand in the area has practically remained the same, approximately 700 bcm, suffering a setback of growth of supplies (mature domestic production and difficulty in applying to external supplies). Whereas in 2007, preliminary estimates show a high annual increase (+5.3% close to 736 bcm) which emerged from the recovery of domestic production. As for single countries, growth in recent years has been remarkable in China, whose consumption climbed from 24.8 bcm in 2000 to 56.6 bcm in 2006 and to 68.5 bcm in 2007 (preliminary evaluations). Japan in the last two years has also recorded a much higher growth in natural gas consumption than in the past (9.8% in 2006 and 8.7% in 2007). The strong increase is due to the temporary closing down of some nuclear plants (for extraordinary maintenance or earthquake damages) that have required a more intense utilization of electric power generation plants fed by natural gas. According to data for 2006, the USA is the leading consuming country, with about 600 bcm (approximately 21% of the world total). Russia is ranked as the second major consumer with nearly 437 bcm (15% of total consumption); 36% of the demand is therefore concentrated just in two countries. The third biggest consuming country is Iran (101 bcm, a sixth of USA s demand). Overall, the first 10 countries consume 60% of the world total. Consumption of natural gas in developed countries (OECD) accounts for approximately 50% of the total. The percentage is constantly declining (in 2000 it was 55%), which is due to faster consumption growth in non-oecd countries. In particular, the increase in the demand for natural gas has been rather high in the Middle East, whose consumption rose to 280 bcm in 2006 from 179 bcm in 2000. The first ten countries in the world Primi dieci paesi del mondo 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 First 10 countries 1,536.31 1,529.32 1,525.53 1,589.15 1,641.23 1,614.45 1,654.11 1,691.53 1,702.68 1,726.36 1,738.74 United States 605.13 608.38 600.32 628.53 657.46 616.30 640.88 620.12 610.96 607.73 599.58 Russia 379.65 371.59 370.87 375.17 380.47 387.98 388.40 408.61 413.45 417.04 436.72 Iran 42.31 47.16 51.27 58.47 62.29 65.73 73.80 81.28 90.15 97.89 100.50 Canada 84.01 84.64 81.24 84.85 88.56 85.73 87.48 95.09 93.06 96.19 99.65 United Kingdom 90.60 90.90 94.67 100.42 104.24 103.34 102.40 102.43 104.22 101.25 96.61 Germany 89.76 85.81 86.74 85.87 85.70 90.15 90.13 94.38 93.90 96.43 94.81 Japan 67.05 69.88 71.45 75.65 78.32 79.28 79.35 85.06 84.18 84.15 92.38 Italy 54.89 56.64 60.98 66.28 69.11 69.30 68.83 75.89 78.75 84.27 82.53 Ukraine 88.85 79.11 70.95 76.97 74.27 74.29 73.35 77.65 78.56 80.46 71.33 Saudi Arabia 34.08 35.20 37.02 36.95 40.80 42.35 49.48 51.04 55.45 60.93 64.62 Rest of the World 718.23 745.78 773.61 806.85 852.10 883.51 924.32 980.83 1,028.88 1,090.00 1,150.58 World 2,254.54 2,275.09 2,299.14 2,396.00 2,493.33 2,497.96 2,578.43 2,672.36 2,731.56 2,816.36 2,889.32 1996 World=2,254.54 billion cubic metres 2006 World=2,889.32 billion cubic metres 31.9% 1.5% 3.9% 2.4% 3.0%4.0% 4.0% 3.7% 1.9% 39.8% 2.2% 2.5% 2.9% 3.23.3% 3.3% 3.4% 3.5% 16.8% 15.1% 26.8% 20.8% United States Russia Iran Canada United Kingdom Germany Japan Italy Ukraine Saudi Arabia Rest of the world 52

Consumption / Consumo Areas and aggregates Aree e aggregati 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 EUROPE 943.65 922.08 927.13 953.32 970.60 994.22 996.14 1,050.61 1,071.04 1,093.42 1,098.97 Western and Central Europe 457.22 451.21 465.81 481.62 496.34 511.94 514.39 543.43 556.49 572.79 567.08 Eastern Europe 486.43 470.87 461.32 471.70 474.26 482.28 481.76 507.18 514.56 520.63 531.89 CENTRAL ASIA 72.78 71.99 77.57 81.27 83.00 86.64 90.61 92.26 92.31 96.97 97.58 MIDDLE EAST 138.52 147.06 157.37 166.80 178.99 183.68 203.49 216.43 238.60 257.76 279.99 AFRICA 47.37 49.82 51.40 56.68 62.79 64.70 71.11 77.68 81.19 87.05 92.37 ASIA AND THE PACIFIC 245.10 266.44 271.00 291.91 308.94 321.81 338.05 362.20 377.85 405.06 433.46 AMERICAS 807.12 817.71 814.67 846.03 889.01 846.91 879.03 873.18 870.57 876.10 886.94 North America 689.14 693.01 681.56 713.38 746.03 702.03 728.36 715.21 704.02 703.92 699.23 Latin America 117.98 124.69 133.12 132.65 142.98 144.88 150.67 157.98 166.55 172.18 187.71 WORLD 2,254.54 2,275.09 2,299.14 2,396.00 2,493.33 2,497.96 2,578.43 2,672.36 2,731.56 2,816.36 2,889.32 High income countries 1,278.75 1,290.47 1,302.27 1,362.17 1,418.97 1,395.64 1,440.35 1,462.14 1,481.79 1,504.08 1,519.30 Upper middle income countries 596.57 593.39 598.10 601.77 631.23 643.14 652.58 690.35 703.18 730.35 771.97 Lower middle income countries 283.94 292.46 290.56 317.90 327.00 341.43 360.11 387.68 406.57 436.33 450.12 Low income countries 95.27 98.78 108.21 114.16 116.13 117.75 125.39 132.19 140.02 145.61 147.93 INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS EUROPEAN UNION (27) 437.32 428.43 442.02 455.83 469.22 481.29 483.64 507.42 518.74 530.46 520.89 OECD 1,245.69 1,256.02 1,265.42 1,324.16 1,379.82 1,357.19 1,394.49 1,418.80 1,426.11 1,445.26 1,451.54 OPEC (12) 226.24 236.90 245.07 253.10 263.81 264.80 282.12 299.62 317.92 336.63 354.73 1996 World=2,254.54 billion cubic metres 2006 World=2,889.32 billion cubic metres 20.3% 5.2% 19.6% 6.5% 30.6% 24.2% 21.6% 18.4% 3.2% 6.1% 2.1% 10.9% 3.4% 9.7% 3.2% 15.0% Western and Central Europe Central Asia Africa North America Eastern Europe Middle East Asia and the Pacific Latin America 53

Consumption / C o ns um o Countries Paesi 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 EUROPE 943.65 922.08 927.13 953.32 970.60 994.22 996.14 1,050.61 1,071.04 1,093.42 1,098.97 Albania 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02 Austria 8.09 7.80 8.01 8.15 7.77 8.24 8.33 9.01 8.90 9.86 9.14 8.22 Belgium 14.09 13.43 14.88 15.90 15.94 15.72 15.96 17.18 17.61 16.83 16.75 16.34 Belorussia 14.44 16.43 16.12 16.66 17.01 17.24 17.55 18.27 19.81 20.21 20.89 Bosnia Herzegovina 0.25 0.15 0.17 0.17 0.28 0.29 0.30 0.32 0.37 0.44 0.44 Bulgaria 5.58 4.41 3.73 3.20 3.50 3.27 2.87 2.98 2.97 3.34 3.39 Croatia 2.59 2.68 2.58 2.61 2.64 2.76 2.83 2.81 2.93 2.83 2.71 Czech Republic 8.99 9.15 9.17 9.21 8.95 9.58 9.26 9.35 9.29 9.19 9.03 8.51 Denmark 4.45 4.69 5.10 5.36 5.31 5.52 5.52 5.56 5.53 5.25 5.40 4.84 Estonia 0.77 0.74 0.71 0.69 0.79 0.85 0.71 0.81 0.92 0.95 1.24 Finland 3.54 3.47 3.98 3.98 4.08 4.42 4.39 4.87 4.71 4.29 4.60 4.44 France 38.98 37.38 39.85 40.63 42.66 44.78 44.71 46.89 47.88 48.89 47.19 47.80 Germany 89.76 85.81 86.74 85.87 85.70 90.15 90.13 94.38 93.90 96.43 94.81 91.31 Greece 0.06 0.20 0.86 1.45 2.03 2.01 2.15 2.42 2.66 2.81 3.28 4.09 Hungary 12.21 11.58 11.66 11.81 11.52 12.77 12.89 14.18 13.97 14.42 13.66 12.85 Ireland 3.16 3.31 3.34 3.57 4.10 4.27 4.39 4.36 4.35 4.14 4.78 5.18 Italy (*) 54.89 56.64 60.98 66.28 69.11 69.30 68.83 75.89 78.75 84.27 82.53 82.95 Latvia 1.03 1.26 1.23 1.18 1.30 1.51 1.54 1.61 1.59 1.62 1.68 Lithuania 2.59 2.39 2.09 2.16 2.46 2.56 2.59 2.81 2.80 2.95 2.90 Luxembourg 0.73 0.75 0.76 0.78 0.80 0.83 1.26 1.27 1.43 1.41 1.47 1.40 Macedonia 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.09 0.09 0.08 0.07 0.08 0.08 Moldova 3.49 3.73 3.37 2.90 2.52 2.78 2.46 2.66 2.73 2.93 2.95 Netherlands 44.68 42.14 41.68 40.77 41.40 42.40 42.75 42.93 43.82 42.13 40.86 39.57 Norway 3.56 4.68 5.14 5.67 4.33 6.47 4.90 6.35 6.05 6.15 6.43 7.61 Poland 11.27 11.23 11.35 11.05 11.88 12.38 12.06 13.43 14.17 14.59 14.70 14.68 Portugal 0.00 0.10 0.83 2.32 2.43 2.69 3.26 3.14 3.94 4.47 4.35 4.55 Romania 23.16 19.01 17.87 16.38 16.32 15.72 16.25 17.57 16.62 16.63 16.95 Russia 379.65 371.59 370.87 375.17 380.47 387.98 388.40 408.61 413.45 417.04 436.72 443.71 Serbia and Montenegro 2.32 2.56 2.39 1.73 1.83 2.06 2.08 2.17 2.76 2.31 2.31 Slovakia 6.56 6.65 6.76 6.84 6.89 7.36 7.00 6.76 6.56 7.02 6.42 6.01 Slovenia 0.87 0.95 0.98 1.02 0.98 1.01 0.98 1.08 1.07 1.11 1.11 Spain 10.31 13.49 13.85 15.85 18.15 19.56 22.36 25.47 30.02 35.59 36.99 37.29 Sweden 0.96 0.95 0.94 0.95 0.93 1.04 1.06 1.06 1.05 1.00 1.05 1.09 Switzerland 2.83 2.74 2.82 2.92 2.90 3.02 2.96 3.13 3.23 3.32 3.23 3.15 Turkey 8.33 9.95 10.67 12.63 15.07 15.95 17.57 21.14 22.31 27.18 30.98 36.36 Ukraine 88.85 79.11 70.95 76.97 74.27 74.29 73.35 77.65 78.56 80.46 71.33 United Kingdom 90.60 90.90 94.67 100.42 104.24 103.34 102.40 102.43 104.22 101.25 96.61 97.56 CENTRAL ASIA 72.78 71.99 77.57 81.27 83.00 86.64 90.61 92.26 92.31 96.97 97.58 Armenia 1.06 1.40 1.45 1.19 1.34 1.36 1.04 1.16 1.29 1.60 1.66 Azerbaijan 6.12 5.76 5.52 6.09 5.97 8.64 8.66 8.89 9.71 9.69 10.48 Georgia 1.04 0.89 0.91 0.82 1.14 0.97 0.81 0.92 1.08 1.28 1.27 Kazakhstan 9.35 8.40 8.40 8.63 10.55 10.30 11.85 14.29 16.23 20.99 21.68 Kyrgyzstan 1.05 0.87 1.02 0.60 0.68 0.70 0.89 0.73 0.80 0.74 0.74 Tajikistan 1.12 0.76 0.77 0.78 0.75 0.73 0.51 0.55 0.57 0.58 0.58 Turkmenistan 10.81 11.03 10.44 12.78 13.00 13.60 13.79 15.31 13.70 14.62 16.67 Uzbekistan 42.23 42.89 49.05 50.39 49.57 50.34 53.05 50.41 48.94 47.47 44.50 MIDDLE EAST 138.52 147.06 157.37 166.80 178.99 183.68 203.49 216.43 238.60 257.76 279.99 Bahrain 5.00 5.23 5.65 5.80 5.93 6.23 6.56 6.76 6.98 7.45 7.73 Iran 42.31 47.16 51.27 58.47 62.29 65.73 73.80 81.28 90.15 97.89 100.50 Iraq 3.16 2.97 2.87 3.10 3.07 2.69 2.24 1.52 2.53 2.58 3.16 Israel 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 1.12 1.54 1.54 Jordan 0.25 0.27 0.27 0.26 0.25 0.25 0.22 0.25 1.43 1.65 2.61 Kuwait 9.21 9.19 9.37 8.58 9.11 8.92 8.00 9.32 10.03 11.25 14.96 Oman 4.29 5.08 5.63 6.18 7.66 8.45 8.96 9.71 9.06 11.12 19.70 Qatar 9.11 9.83 10.43 11.67 12.66 12.83 13.03 13.96 15.72 15.92 17.87 Saudi Arabia 34.08 35.20 37.02 36.95 40.80 42.35 49.48 51.04 55.45 60.93 64.62 Syria 2.84 4.41 5.70 5.84 5.90 5.40 6.57 6.62 6.86 7.06 6.09 United Arab Emirates 28.27 27.70 29.14 29.96 31.30 30.84 34.62 35.96 39.28 40.37 41.22 (*) The figures differ from those published in the Italian National Energy Balance because of the different calorific content of a cubic metre. To arrive at the figures from the national source, in cubic metres, multiply the consumption by 1.02362. I dati differiscono da quelli pubblicati nel Bilancio Energetico Nazionale Italiano a causa del diverso contenuto calorifico del metro cubo. Per ricondursi ai dati, in metri cubi, di fonte nazionale è sufficiente moltiplicare il consumo per il coefficiente 1,02362. 54

Consumption / Consumo Countries Paesi 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 AFRICA 47.37 49.82 51.40 56.68 62.79 64.70 71.11 77.68 81.19 87.05 92.37 Algeria 18.80 20.18 20.77 22.14 22.32 22.62 23.65 25.98 25.25 27.36 27.97 Angola 0.55 0.55 0.57 0.55 0.57 0.52 0.60 0.63 0.73 0.73 0.78 Côte d Ivoire 0.45 0.73 0.90 1.51 1.51 1.52 1.54 1.36 1.49 1.66 1.66 Egypt 12.69 13.01 13.39 16.96 21.22 22.60 27.61 30.34 30.03 33.12 35.71 Gabon 0.13 0.13 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.10 0.11 0.11 0.13 0.13 0.13 Libya 5.09 5.31 5.31 4.13 4.95 5.25 5.44 5.50 6.68 6.14 6.83 Morocco 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.46 0.46 Mozambique 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.03 Nigeria 5.32 5.56 5.96 6.28 7.13 6.28 6.43 8.60 9.31 9.26 10.07 Senegal 0.05 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02 South Africa 1.84 1.64 1.38 1.81 1.67 2.17 2.15 1.29 3.32 4.33 4.58 Tanzania 0.13 0.14 0.14 Tunisia 2.45 2.64 2.94 3.14 3.26 3.61 3.54 3.80 4.06 3.69 3.99 ASIA AND THE PACIFIC 245.10 266.44 271.00 291.91 308.94 321.81 338.05 362.20 377.85 405.06 433.46 Australia 20.05 20.19 21.01 21.90 22.99 24.23 25.59 26.43 27.13 27.49 28.91 28.23 Bangladesh 7.03 6.91 7.47 8.14 8.80 9.85 10.36 11.15 11.99 12.89 13.81 Brunei 2.39 2.40 2.12 2.20 2.21 2.02 1.92 2.31 2.32 2.19 2.28 China 18.44 20.10 20.83 22.50 24.75 27.86 30.30 33.08 39.66 47.88 56.55 68.54 Hong Kong 2.00 3.13 2.93 3.23 2.92 2.95 2.80 1.80 2.60 2.61 2.63 India 19.77 22.48 23.46 25.03 25.04 25.05 27.35 28.12 30.52 34.41 35.88 Indonesia 36.82 39.00 37.04 40.35 37.32 36.63 35.81 38.82 36.16 36.53 38.58 Japan 67.05 69.88 71.45 75.65 78.32 79.28 79.35 85.06 84.18 84.15 92.38 100.46 Malaysia 16.66 20.54 20.83 22.00 28.78 28.15 28.41 29.03 24.44 30.55 31.17 Myanmar 1.58 1.70 1.64 1.55 1.43 1.16 1.20 1.59 2.06 2.53 2.72 New Zealand 5.24 5.62 4.95 5.74 6.03 6.35 6.03 4.60 4.12 3.81 3.92 4.24 Pakistan 16.36 16.27 16.93 18.75 19.88 20.78 21.29 26.43 28.70 30.04 31.03 Philippines 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.14 1.70 2.59 2.39 3.17 2.89 Singapore 1.57 1.55 1.69 1.38 1.41 2.13 3.46 5.35 6.31 7.08 7.08 South Korea 13.02 15.90 14.90 18.14 20.29 22.35 25.30 26.25 30.16 32.65 34.28 37.15 Taiwan 4.42 5.11 6.31 6.28 6.53 7.17 8.29 8.61 10.52 10.29 11.04 Thailand 12.38 15.08 16.45 17.93 20.89 24.37 26.13 27.74 29.08 30.92 31.56 Vietnam 0.33 0.59 0.99 1.12 1.33 1.34 2.76 3.23 5.50 5.86 6.74 AMERICAS 807.12 817.71 814.67 846.03 889.01 846.91 879.03 873.18 870.57 876.10 886.94 Argentina 29.99 31.63 32.21 33.20 35.57 33.78 32.63 36.00 37.44 38.30 39.45 Bolivia 1.63 1.97 1.89 1.81 1.59 1.34 1.39 1.22 1.68 1.63 1.98 Brazil 5.54 6.15 6.45 7.26 9.28 11.94 14.77 15.22 18.81 19.95 20.91 Canada 84.01 84.64 81.24 84.85 88.56 85.73 87.48 95.09 93.06 96.19 99.65 98.00 Chile 1.73 2.59 3.73 5.78 6.47 7.34 7.40 8.01 8.06 8.41 8.26 Colombia 4.66 5.82 6.65 5.84 6.51 6.91 6.90 6.61 6.96 7.30 7.87 Cuba 0.02 0.04 0.12 0.45 0.56 0.58 0.57 0.64 0.69 0.73 0.79 Dominican Republic 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.02 Ecuador 0.35 0.32 0.33 0.31 0.34 0.34 0.34 0.57 0.50 0.54 0.87 Mexico 33.14 34.39 37.52 36.93 39.98 41.15 45.72 50.07 52.14 52.72 58.56 64.83 Peru 0.50 0.38 0.45 0.58 0.53 0.55 0.60 0.66 1.03 1.74 1.96 Trinidad and Tobago 6.88 7.20 8.45 9.52 9.83 10.76 11.27 11.91 12.51 13.06 18.76 United States 605.13 608.38 600.32 628.53 657.46 616.30 640.88 620.12 610.96 607.73 599.58 638.49 Uruguay 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.06 0.11 0.10 0.13 Venezuela 33.55 34.22 35.30 30.95 32.29 30.17 29.04 27.01 26.63 27.67 28.16 55

Per capita Consumption / Consumo pro capite Each inhabitant on the earth consumes 454 cubic metres of natural gas on average every year. But, like all averages, this also disguises strong disparities in the distribution of consumption among countries. Indeed, while in high income countries average per capita consumption of natural gas tops 1,481 cubic metres, in low income countries it is only 66 cubic metres, i.e. an amount that is 22 times lower. Among individual countries or specific areas, disparities are even more pronounced. North America is the area with the largest per capita gas consumption (2,107 cubic metres). On average, every US and Canadian citizen consumes almost twice as much gas as a EU citizen, about 49 times as much gas as a Chinese and more than 28 times as much gas as a Nigerian. Russia and Canada are the countries with the highest per capita consumption, with 3,058 cubic metres, followed by Saudi Arabia and the USA, with 2,557 and 2,004 cubic metres respectively. A country s consumption of natural gas strictly depends on its electric power generation mix. Thus, Russia s leading position is essentially due to its large use of natural gas in co-generation of electricity and heat. Whereas the USA only ranks fourth because its electric power generation capacity is based on coal and nuclear power, leaving for the moment only a minor share to natural gas. The same argument explains the strong disparities in per capita consumption that exist among EU countries: from 120 cubic metres in Sweden to 2,398 in the Netherlands, in 2007, a level above that of the USA (2,113 cubic metres). In recent years per capita consumption of natural gas has constantly albeit slightly increased, going from 421 cubic metres in 2000 to approximately 454 cubic metres in 2007. This indicator has generally increased in all areas and for all categories of countries (high income and low income). In most cases this trend is due to an increasing use of natural gas in electric power generation. The first ten countries in the world (cubic metres) Primi dieci paesi del mondo (metri cubi) 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Russia 2,570 2,523 2,525 2,564 2,601 2,658 2,673 2,826 2,874 2,910 3,058 Canada 2,831 2,822 2,686 2,782 2,878 2,758 2,789 3,006 2,910 2,980 3,058 Saudi Arabia 1,776 1,784 1,824 1,769 1,899 1,917 2,179 2,188 2,315 2,477 2,557 United States 2,246 2,231 2,176 2,252 2,330 2,160 2,222 2,132 2,081 2,050 2,004 United Kingdom 1,553 1,555 1,616 1,710 1,745 1,737 1,727 1,719 1,741 1,688 1,604 Ukraine 1,740 1,564 1,415 1,550 1,510 1,526 1,521 1,624 1,656 1,706 1,522 Iran 694 775 829 932 978 1,019 1,126 1,224 1,345 1,443 1,464 Italy 957 985 1,059 1,150 1,198 1,201 1,193 1,316 1,368 1,463 1,432 Germany 1,096 1,046 1,057 1,046 1,042 1,095 1,092 1,143 1,138 1,168 1,148 Japan 533 554 565 597 617 624 623 667 659 658 721 1996 2006 Russia Canada Saudi Arabia United States United Kingdom Ukraine Iran Italy Germany Japan Russia Canada Saudi Arabia United States United Kingdom Ukraine Iran Italy Germany Japan 0 700 1,400 2,100 2,800 3,500 0 700 1,400 2,100 2,800 3,500 56