Natural gas is a combustible hydrocarbon gas, consisting primarily of methane. It is found in deep underground rock formations or associated with other hydrocarbon reservoirs, such as crude oil. Natural gas is a nonrenewable resource and one of the three major fossil fuels (petroleum, coal, natural gas).
Natural gas has been used for centuries for heating and cooking. In the past few decades, its use has expanded to include electric power generation and industrial purposes such as petrochemical production. Today, natural gas is the fastest-growing energy source in the United States.
Natural gas consists mostly of methane, a molecule consisting of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms (CH4). However, natural gas also contains small amounts of other hydrocarbon gases like ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), butane (C4H10), and pentane (C5H12). These other gases are called “natural gas liquids” or “NGLS.” The NGLS are often separated from the methane before the natural gas is transported by pipeline to consumers.
The majority of U.S. natural gas reserves are located in the Gulf Coast region, followed by Alaska, the Rocky Mountain region, and the Midcontinent region. The largest deposits of shalegas – a type of unconventional natural gas – are found in Texas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Arkansas
In 2018 world primary energy consumption grew at its fastest pace since 2010 -driven by strong growth in Asia Pacific- while renewables continued to grow strongly.. Global demand for natural gas increased by 4%, led by China where demand was up 10%. This was despite ongoing challenges in Europe (-3%) and North America (-1%). OECD countries saw their combined demand for natural Gas fall slightly.. Emerging economies accounted for almost all global growth in both coal (+5%) and renewables (+11%). India’s energy consumption growth was +7% in 2018 driven mainly by coal (+9%)and renewable (+11%). Growth slowed down somewhat compared to previous years but remains robust.. Coal remained the largest source of electricity generation globally(38%), followed by renewables(23%), nuclear(11%), hydropower(16%)and oil(6%). Natural Gas made up 21%of global electricity generation.. In terms of installed capacity additions , solar PV led all technologies again with around 94 gigawatts(GW) added , followed closely by wind with just over 61GW . China alone accounted for around two thirds share each