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- Natural gas is a combustible fossil fuel found in deep underground reservoirs of porous rock. It is mostly comprised of methane but also contains small amounts of ethane, propane, pentane and butane gasses.
- Natural gas is used extensively in residential, commercial and industrial applications and is the dominant energy source for home heating.
It is also widely used by electric companies for power generation.
- Natural gas is also used for water heating, cooking, air conditioning, cogeneration, and even powering vehicles.
- Natural gas provides nearly 25 percent of the energy consumed in the United States and accounts for over 32 percent of the country's energy production.
- In 1995, the American Gas Association reported that 53 percent of the nation's existing homes used natural gas heat and roughly 65 percent of the new homes built also used natural gas heat.
- Based on a report by the Potential Gas Committee of the Colorado School of Mines, total U.S. recoverable natural gas resources are 1,192 trillion cubic feet, including the U.S. Department of Energy's estimate of 164 Tcf of proved reserves.
- This translates into more than a 60-year supply at current production levels. Many energy experts believe the U.S. has several hundred years of natural gas supplies.
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