Southern African Natural Gas Advisory Service Service

What is natural gas?

Natural gas is a hydrocarbon that consists mainly of methane and some other constituents such as ethane, propane, butane, pentane and small amounts of impurities such as carbon dioxide. Methane consists of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms. CH4  It is lighter than air. When released into the atmosphere it rapidly rises and dissipates.   

Natural gas now serves 23% of mankind's energy needs throughout the world because it is a widely occurring, readily transportable, safe, clean, affordable; and, the least invasive carbon based fuel from an environmental protection perspective in comparison with coal and oil. It has a lower carbon footprint in comparison with coal and oil. Natural gas is also a highly efficient thermal fuel providing in excess of 91% of the energy provided at the point of production to final use in customer’s premises.

It is also supplied and delivered to consumers in a way that hardly impinges on the landscape. Natural gas is supplied via miles of underground concealed pipelines unlike electricity that has to be transported via large visually invasive power lines. Wind energy also is visually invasive when operated on the land. With modern technology, natural gas transmission pipelines carrying millions of cubic meters of  gas can be laid quickly with no lasting impact on the landscape. So too can local natural gas distribution supply pipeline networks in urban areas.

As with all types of energy source such as electricity, gasoline, bottled gas, nuclear, renewable energies such as wind power or solar thermal; and, coal, there are necessary safety considerations associated with natural gas. It is a flammable gaseous fuel that must be produced, transported and used according to prescribed, regulated and safe practices.

Natural gas is widely used and has many applications since it is a highly versatile energy source. Applications include electricity generation, heating and cooling buildings, providing power and heat for industry and vehicles as well as being a feedstock for the manufacture of fertilizers and synthetic fuels. Natural gas is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon that is different from Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) that is a manufactured fuel, a byproduct of the processing of oil and natural gas.