Natural gas

Natural gas has found its place in a wide variety of domestic and industrial applications, but it does not have a captive market, as other forms of energy can usually replace it, notably coal, for which it is the long-term "transition" energy. However, under certain economic conditions, it could, partially and temporarily, replace oil in the transport sector as a synthetic fuel (GTL Gas To Liquid).

Natural gas accounts for over 20% of global energy consumption, while oil represents 34%. Global demand for natural gas has grown by an average of 2.9% a year over the past ten years, significantly faster than that for energy and oil, which grew by just 2.4% and 1.4% respectively over the same period.

Growth in gas consumption is largely due to its development in the power generation sector. In the coming years, the non-OECD countries of the Middle East and Asia, particularly China and India, will have a particularly strong influence on the growth in demand for natural gas.