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What’s in natural gas?
Natural gas found in the ground contains methane, ethane, propane, butane, pentane, and traces of hexane and heptanes. Gas utilities remove almost everything but the methane so the natural gas delivered to your home will burn cleanly.
What is methane?
Methane is a molecule made up of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms. Its chemical formula is CH4.
What makes natural gas a clean fuel?
The main products released when natural gas is burned are carbon dioxide and water vapor. Coal and oil are more chemically complex than natural gas, so when burned they release a variety of potentially harmful chemicals into the air.
How much of our country’s energy needs are served by natural gas?
Natural gas supplies about 23 percent of all energy used in the United States.
Are more homes heated by natural gas or electricity?
Nearly 70 percent of single family homes completed in 2001 use natural gas heating, followed by 27 percent that use electric heat, and 3 percent that use heating oil. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
Where in the United States is natural gas located?
Natural gas is found in 33 states. The dark blue states on this map show you where large amounts of natural gas are extracted. In the medium blue states, moderate amounts of natural gas are extracted. And in the light blue states, just a little natural gas is extracted. Natural gas is not extracted at all in the states that are white.
How much natural gas is produced in the world?
Natural gas is found in about 50 countries. About 2,464 billion cubic meters of natural gas are taken out of the ground and processed for use each year. Here is a list of how much is produced by various countries and regions:
| United States | 22.5 % |
| Canada | 7.0 % |
| Mexico | 1.4 % |
| Central and South America | 4.0 % |
| Europe | 11.9 % |
| Former Soviet Union | 27.5 % |
| Middle East | 9.3 % |
| Africa | 5.0 % |
| Asian and Pacific Countries | 11.4 % |
| (Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2002 http://www.bp.com/) | |
How much natural gas do we use?
About 2,405 billion cubic meters of natural gas are used yearly in the world. Here is a list of how much of that is used by various countries and regions. (The difference between the total natural gas produced and the total natural gas used is due to difficulties in measuring gas supplied.)
| United States | 25.6 % |
| Canada | 3.0 % |
| Mexico | 1.4 % |
| Central and South America | 4.0 % |
| Europe | 19.5 % |
| Former Soviet Union | 22.8 % |
| Middle East | 8.4 % |
| Africa | 2.5 % |
| Asian and Pacific Countries | 12.7 % |
| (Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2002 http://www.bp.com/centres/energy2002/downloads/index.asp) | |
Why is natural gas used to run electric power plants?
In the 1970s and 1980s, most electric power plants were fueled by coal or nuclear power. In 2000, some 23,453 megawatts (MW) of new electric capacity was added in the U.S. and almost 95 percent of this, or 22,238 MW, was fueled by natural gas. (Source: American Gas Association)
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