Today, natural gas meets about one-fourth of the countryís energy needs, and demand for this convenient,
clean-burning fuel is expected to continue rising well into the next decade.

It is an energy resource that lies hidden beneath the ground, trapped in porous rock formations. Deposits of
natural gas lie throughout the United States and are moved by pipelines from the producing fields to consumers.
Nevertheless the country still uses more natural gas than it produces requiring large quantities to be imported. In
2006 the U.S. consumed nearly 22 trillion cubic feet of gas, compared with domestic production of about 18.5 trillion cubic feet.

The U.S. imports natural gas via pipeline from Canada and Mexico and moves natural gas from countries that are
further away by turning natural gas into a liquid (also called "Liquefied Natural Gas" or LNG) †which is then warmed
up and turned into gas upon arrival in the United States. Although most natural gas undergoes some processing before
delivery to consumers, it does not require the extensive refining necessary to turn crude oil into useful products.

Liquified Natural Gas
LNG is achieved by supercooling, chillied to approximately -260 degrees Fahrenhieit, and is stored in this form. The
primary benefit is not only realized in transportation across the ocean to other countries but in storage as well because
natural gas takes up only 1/600th of the space it would in its gaseous state. Once LNG is received at its final port it can
be shipped by truck to be held in large chilled tanks close to users or turned back into gas too add to pipelines.
The United States still uses more natural gas than it produces, requiring large quantities to be pipelined from
Canada and growing amounts to be imported from other countries in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Advantages
Natural gas is the cleanest burning of all fossil fuels, making it the fuel of choice in many applications.
It has fewer emissions of sulfur, carbon and nitrogen than coal or oil and produces almost no ash.
In addition to its heating and power-generation duties, natural gas in its compressed form can be used to fuel
buses and commercial vehicles in metropolitan areas where air pollution is a problem.

Natural gas is accessible to most consumers in the United States. The country has one of the most highly
=developed natural gas distribution systems in the world, with nearly 1.5 million miles of long-distance pipelines
and local distribution lines reaching almost all sections of the country with the exception of some rural regions and
sections of the Northeast. Natural gas transmission and distribution operations have an extremely strong safety record.

Issues
The processes for drilling for and developing natural gas resources are similar to the procedures used for developing
oil resources. In fact, many wells produce both oil and natural gas. Therefore precautions must be taken to disturb the
natural environment as little as possible both during drilling and during ongoing production. Since the 1980s, technological
advances have made it possible for gas developers to minimize the ìfootprintî needed for exploration and production activities.

As with other fossil fuels, burning natural gas produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. The combustion of natural
gas emits almost 30 percent less carbon dioxide than oil, and just under 45 percent less carbon dioxide than coal.
Laboratory research and pilot projects are underway throughout the oil and gas industry to develop economical
methods of sequestering carbon dioxide emissions by injecting them underground.