For hundreds of years, natural gas has been known as a very useful substance. The Chinese discovered a very long time ago that the energy in natural gas could be harnessed, and used to heat water. In the early days of the natural gas industry, the gas was mainly used to light streetlamps, and the occasional house. However, with much improved distribution channels and technological advancements, natural gas is being used in ways never thought possible.
There are so many different applications for this fossil fuel that it is hard to provide an exhaustive list of everything it is used for. And no doubt, new uses are being discovered all the time. To learn more about technological advancements in the natural gas industry, click here. Natural gas has many applications, commercially, in your home, in industry, and even in the transportation sector! While the uses described here are not exhaustive, they may help to show just how many things natural gas can do.
|Natural Gas Use By Sector|
|Source: EIA – Annual Energy Outlook 2002|
According to the Energy Information Administration, energy from natural gas accounts for 24 percent of total energy consumed in the United States, making it a vital component of the nation’s energy supply. For more detailed information on the demand for and supply of energy, and natural gas, including forecasts and outlooks, click here.
Natural gas is used across all sectors, in varying amounts. The graph below gives an idea of the proportion of natural gas use per sector. The industrial sector accounts for the greatest proportion of natural gas use in the United States, with the residential sector consuming the second greatest quantity of natural gas.
Click on an area of interest to learn about the various uses for natural gas in each sector: