 Putin will again use natural gas as a weapon. Natural gas will continue to be a valuable resource with high global demand for a considerable period to come. Russian President Vladimir Putin predicted. Speaking via video link at an event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of state energy company Gazprom, the Russian leader noted that global gas consumption has nearly doubled in the last 30 years and is expected to increase by at least 20% in the next 20 years. In the so-called transitional phase, demand will be huge and countries of the Asia Pacific will account for more than half of this growth, especially of course in China, given its economic development rate, Putin said. Further growth of the huge gas industrial complex already established in the east of Russia is strategically vital for the country, the president added. Regarding Gazprom, Putin described the state-owned companies explored energy reserves as enormous. Well, here are the Bovonenkovskoe and Karasaveyskoe gas fields. The first one contains 4.9 trillion cubic meters of proven reserves, almost 5 trillion. The second one about 2 trillion cubic meters. These are astronomical reserves for any country, the head of the state observed.