Today, natural gas meets about one-fourth of the country’s energy needs, and demand for this convenient, clean-burning fuel is expected to continue rising well into the next decade.

Although consumers often think of natural gas as primarily a fuel for heating and cooking, only about a quarter of all gas goes toward residential uses. The largest gas consumer is industry, where it is used to produce steel, glass, paper, brick and other products and where it is a raw material for manufacturing plastics, paints, fertilizer, medicines and other everyday items. Natural gas also is a key fuel in electric power generation.

The United States is the world’s second largest producer of natural gas behind Russia. U.S. gas production has been holding relatively steady over the last several years as higher prices have spurred additional exploratory drilling and gas development. Nevertheless, the country. still uses more natural gas that it produces, requiring large quantities to be pipelined from Canada and growing amounts to be imported from other countries in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG). In 2006 the U.S. consumed nearly 22 trillion cubic feet of gas, compared with domestic production of about 18.5 trillion cubic feet.

The nation’s gas supply is made up of these major sources:
• Conventional gas resources
• Imported liquefied natural gas
• Unconventional gas resources

Advantages
Natural gas is the cleanest burning of all fossil fuels, making it the fuel of choice in many applications. It has fewer emissions of sulfur, carbon and nitrogen than coal or oil and produces almost no ash. In addition to its heating and power-generation duties, natural gas in its compressed form can be used to fuel buses and commercial vehicles in metropolitan areas where air pollution is a problem.

Natural gas is accessible to most consumers in the United States. The country has one of the most highly developed natural gas distribution systems in the world, with nearly 1.5 million miles of long-distance pipelines and local distribution lines reaching almost all sections of the country with the exception of some rural regions and sections of the Northeast. Natural gas transmission and distribution operations have an extremely strong safety record.

Issues
The processes for drilling for and developing natural gas resources are similar to the procedures used for developing oil resources. In fact, many wells produce both oil and natural gas. Therefore precautions must be taken to disturb the natural environment as little as possible both during drilling and during ongoing production. Since the 1980s, technological advances have made it possible for gas developers to minimize the “footprint” needed for exploration and production activities.

As with other fossil fuels, burning natural gas produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. The combustion of natural gas emits almost 30 percent less carbon dioxide than oil, and just under 45 percent less carbon dioxide than coal.
Laboratory research and pilot projects are underway throughout the oil and gas industry to develop economical methods of sequestering carbon dioxide emissions by injecting them underground.

For More Information
Natural Gas Weekly Update, a brief weekly report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on natural gas inventories and prices.
Balancing Natural Gas Policy - Fueling the Demands of a Growing Economy, a report by the National Petroleum Council (NPC) on the future of the United States natural gas supply.
Oil and Natural Gas Markets, where the U.S. Energy Information Administration presents forecasts and analysis of oil and natural gas markets as part of its 2006 Annual Energy Outlook.
Natural Gas, Fueling the Blue Flame, a brief overview of natural gas – its history, production, transmission and uses – prepared by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Natural Gas – From Wellhead to Burner Tip, a summary by the Natural Gas Supply Association traces the path of natural gas from the Earth to your home.
Natural Gas Pipeline Network, a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration looks at pipeline locations and capacity across the country.