The United States overtook Russia for the first time in seven years as the world’s largest gas producer, the Moscow-based Kommersant newspaper reports citing data released by the U.S. Department of Energy and Russian Energy Ministry.
In 2009, U.S. gas production rose by 3.7 percent, totaling 624 billion cubic meters, while Russia’s plunged by 12.4 percent, equaling 582.3 billion cubic meters. Russia topped the ranking since 2002 when it produced 539 billion cubic meters, which sufficed to leapfrog the former leader – the United States, which produced 536 billion cubic meters.
