NATURAL GAS AS AN ENERGY RESOURCE

According to a report published by the US Energy Information Administration in 2011, natural gas accounts for approximately 21 percent of the global energy supply. Additionally, with over 90 percent of the natural gas used in the US coming from North America, natural gas plays an important role in advancing US energy security.

The US Environmental Protection Agency regards natural gas as the cleanest burning transportation fossil fuel commercially available today. The International Energy Agency estimated that in 2010 there were 100,000 natural gas vehicles operating on American roads and more than 11 million vehicles worldwide.

Primary users of natural gas globally are power companies, which use it for the production of electricity, and utility companies, which distribute it for residential and industrial use. In 2009, 21 percent of natural gas used in the US was consumed by residential homes, 27 percent by industry, 30 percent for electrical power, and 14 percent by businesses, with the remainder used in the operation of natural gas production and transportation infrastructure.