Natural gas is used in over 60 million homes. In addition, natural gas is used in 78 percent of restaurants, 73 percent of lodging facilities, 51 percent of hospitals, 59 percent of offices, and 58 percent of retail buildings. Natural gas is vital to America's manufacturers, not only to power their operations, but also as an essential feedstock for many of the products we use daily - clothing, carpets, sports equipment, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, computers, and auto parts. It is also a primary feedstock for chemicals, plastics and fertilizers. Natural gas fuels our economy. It is a clean burning domestic energy source that powers our economy. It cools and warms our homes and businesses, is used to generate electricity, and helps maintain our quality of life.
Size: 205 KB | Date: July 29, 2009 | License: Free
Natural Gas is America's New Energy Frontier
New technologies creating new energy. Technological innovation has opened the door to abundant new energy resources in the U.S. We now have over a 100-year supply of clean-burning natural gas that we didn’t know about just a few years ago. The natural gas industry supports nearly 4 million jobs and adds more than $385 billion to the national economy. And this is just the beginning. From the coalbed methane natural gas found throughout the Mountain West, to the shale gas formations along the Northeast’s Appalachian Basin, to the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico, to the vast potential of the Arctic and other offshore resources, we have enough natural gas to keep America going strong into the next century.
Size: 1.1 MB | Date: April 5, 2010 | License: Free
Natural Gas and Its Uses
Natural gas is made up of just two elements - carbon and hydrogen. It is part of a family of chemicals known as hydrocarbons, which also includes oil and gasoline. As its name suggests, natural gas comes out of the ground as a gas; oil, gasoline and other hydrocarbons are recovered mixed together in a liquid called crude oil. Learn more about where it is formed and its uses.
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Natural Gas Supply and Demand
Major producing reserves are found in the Rocky Mountains, Texas and Louisiana. In addition, significant natural gas comes from offshore production in the Gulf of Mexico. There could be much more oil and natural gas than previously known in areas where industry has been unable to fully explore, and new technologies allow us to access resources previously thought unreachable. At a time when we need all the energy we can find, increasing access to domestic sources of oil and natural gas would enhance our energy security. Learn more about natural gas supply and demand.
Advanced Drilling Techniques
Oil and natural gas wells have traditionally been drilled vertically, at depths ranging from a few thousand feet to as deep as five miles. Today, advances in drilling technology allow oil and natural gas companies to reach more reserves while reducing environmental impact by: reducing the surface "footprint" of drilling operations, drilling smaller holes and generating less waste creating less noise, avoiding sensitive ecosystems, and completing operations more quickly. Learn more about natural gas advanced drilling techniques.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) can play an important role in diversifying and expanding natural gas supplies and should be a part of a comprehensive, market-based energy policy that also encourages the development of domestic natural gas resources. Visit the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to learn more about how LNG can help meet growing U.S. demand for natural gas. Also, see natural gas supply and demand information. Please see the Flash animation entitled: “,” designed to give viewers a better understanding of liquefied natural gas, what it is, why America needs it and how it is used. The animation includes illustrations of how LNG is converted to a liquid and then back to a gas, where LNG comes from, and how LNG is safely shipped to our shores and delivered to homes and businesses.
Natural Gas Podcasts
API has recorded these podcasts to help consumers better understand natural gas and its uses.
Methane Hydrates
Jane Van Ryan talks with Ray Boswell, manager for Methane Hydrate R&D Programs at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, about using methane hydrates as a fuel of the future.
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Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is a Valuable Energy Source
In this episode of EnergyTomorrow Radio, API's Jane Van Ryan and Sara Banaxzak, with Bill Cooper of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas, discuss the value and use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an energy source.
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EnergyTomorrow Radio is a podcast series that features energy industry experts speaking on hot button energy issues.
Understanding Natural Gas Markets
Natural gas is an attractive fuel because it is clean-burning and efficient. The importance of natural gas as an energy source for the United States has grown since the mid-1990. For the last five to seven years, the price of natural gas has been trending upward in response to the interaction of supply and increased demand. In a project commissioned by API, Lexecon. a unit of business consultancy FTI, has put together a primer called "Understanding Natural Gas Markets" that explains this interaction of market forces. Download/View
Size: 1.8 MB | Date: January 2007 | License: Free
Life is Better with Natural Gas
Energy, including clean-burning natural gas, keeps America going. Energy fuels growth, supplies most of the products we use daily and maintains the quality of life Americans have come to enjoy. Life truly is better with natural gas!
This interactive uses Flash technology. If you do not have the Flash plug-in installed, click here.
What can you do to help reduce your natural gas bills?
With just a few steps you can take to make your home more energy-efficient, thereby helping to reduce both your heating and cooling bills. Check your doors and windows for leaks and drafts and add weather stripping as needed. Tune up existing furnaces. Clean filters on forced-air furnaces. Conduct an "energy audit" of your home to evaluate your heating system's efficiency and determine where heat loss may be occurring. Many fuel dealers and utility providers offer these audits as a free service. You can also perform your own home energy audit on the Internet, and find other useful tips, by visiting the and following the instructions found there.
A new process for unloading and storing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) could augment the nation’s energy supply and increase worldwide trade of the valuable fuel. The “Bishop Process” is a unique method of unloading and re-gasifying liquefied natural gas (LNG) directly from tankers for storage in underground salt caverns. Salt cavern-based LNG terminals can be built for approximately half the cost and with twice the capacity of conventional liquid tank terminals. This technology potentially could increase the efficiency of extracting natural gas from underground storage sites, making more gas available to consumers during the winter heating season.
Natural Gas Hydrates May Help Fuel the Future
Gas hydrates – natural gas and water frozen together into a solid substance -- are common in arctic permafrost regions and in sediments in the ocean's deep waters. Research is now underway to better understand this vast, untapped resource: how natural gas hydrates form, where they are located and how they could be used as a future source of natural gas.
Clogged natural gas storage reservoirs may soon be a thing of the past, due to a low-cost cleaning system developed by a Department of Energy-sponsored team of companies. The 10-pound device is lowered into the gas storage well and then uses sonic waves to remove any debris. This technology potentially could increase the efficiency of extracting natural gas from underground storage sites, making more gas available to consumers during the winter heating season.
Related Links:
Shell, U.S. Gas and Power - Liquefied Natural Gas Information
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Life is Better with Natural Gas
