ABSTRACT
The main ingredient in natural gas is methane, approximately 90%, and the remainder includes ethane, propane, and butane, and other complex hydrocarbons in smaller quantities. The quantity of natural gas available has only become a concern due to the increasing reliance on it as a replacement for the more carbon-intensive coal power plants. Natural gas is a product of decomposed algae and plankton, similar to oil Ancient plants and animals, trapped in bogs and under water, broke down without the presence of oxygen. Carbon emissions from burning natural gas are much less than coal or oil, even though all are hydrocarbons and fossil fuels. The world contains an abundant supply of natural gas that is and can continue to be developed and delivered at relatively low costs well into the next century. Natural gas is able to be moved from the source—whether the gas reservoirs are in the west or Texas—to the markets in the east and north.
