Natural gas

Natural gas is an underground mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons, chiefly methane, extracted for use as fuel and chemical feedstock.

Thermogenic methane: Methane formed when buried organic matter is transformed by heat and pressure over geological time. It supplies much of the methane found in conventional natural-gas deposits.
Liquefied natural gas: Natural gas cooled into liquid form for storage and transport by specialized ships. Liquefaction lets gas cross oceans where pipelines are unavailable.
Coal: A combustible sedimentary rock formed from ancient plant matter and used chiefly as fuel. Coal competes with gas in electricity and industrial heat, with different emissions and infrastructure.
Methane emissions: Releases of methane into the atmosphere from natural and human sources. Leaks across production and delivery can erase part of gas's climate advantage over coal.
Coal gas: A manufactured fuel gas produced by heating coal, used widely for lighting and cooking before natural gas networks expanded. It powered early urban gas networks before abundant underground gas displaced it.
Biogenic methane: Methane produced by microorganisms as they break down organic matter in oxygen-poor environments. It forms some natural-gas accumulations without deep burial and intense heating.
Combined-cycle power plant: A power plant that uses a gas turbine and a steam turbine to generate electricity in sequence. It converts natural gas into electricity with higher efficiency than a simple-cycle turbine.
Petroleum: A naturally occurring liquid mixture of hydrocarbons refined into fuels and chemical products. Oil is another fossil hydrocarbon resource, but it is liquid and serves different transport markets.
Greenhouse effect: The warming of a planet's surface and lower atmosphere as gases absorb and re-emit infrared radiation. Burning gas releases carbon dioxide, while leaked methane strengthens this atmospheric warming process.
William Hart: An American entrepreneur who drilled an early successful natural-gas well near Fredonia, New York, in 1821. His well helped establish the commercial use of naturally occurring gas in the United States.

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