Transcripción del resumen original del autor: Gas supplies will continue to increase throughout the period 2000-2030. Today’s gas reserves are adequate enough to support the current record levels of production for the next 200 years. Under the base case scenario, world gas demand is expected to double by 2030. With an annual growth rate of 2.3%, natural gas share of the worlds primary energy use will reach 26.5% by the end of this period, up from 23.2% in 2000. Total world energy demand is expected to increase by 70% during this same period. The use of natural gas for power generation will drive this growth. In 2000, interregional trade in natural gas represented more than 12% of world gas consumption. 90% of exports came from three areas: East Europe and North Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia. 97% of these exports went to Central and West Europe and East Asia. LNG accounted for 46% of the deliveries and gas pipelines 54%. It is expected that the international trade in natural gas will triple by 2030. Since the last report, the natural gas industry has constructed 20,000 Km of gas transmission pipelines, 5 new gas liquefaction plants adding 31 million tons of new capacity, and 24 methane tankers. At constant prices, the required investment between 2000 and 2030 to realize this dramatic expansion in trade will be between two and three trillion dollars of which more than one trillion dollars will concern the renewal or replacement of existing infrastructure. Although this level of investment is not out of line with historic costs, the financial needs will be significant and will require the cooperation and support of governments and regulators. A stable framework of legal, fiscal and regulatory rules will be a prerequisite for such investment.