据1976年底的统计,世界已知天然气储量为64.5万亿立方米,占当时世界油气总储量(1465亿吨)的40％。个别国家天然气储量已超过石油储量,如苏联1976年的天然气储量为25.7万亿立方米,按发热量计算相当于257亿吨原油,比苏联当时的石油储量107亿吨多一倍多。 According to the statistics at the end of 1976, the world’s known natural gas reserves are 64.5 trillion cubic meters, accounting for 40% of the world’s total oil and gas reserves (146.5 billion tons). In some countries, natural gas reserves have surpassed oil reserves. For example, the Soviet Union had 25.7 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves in 1976, equivalent to 25.7 billion tons of crude oil in heat production, more than double the amount of 10.7 billion tons of oil reserves of the Soviet Union at that time.