Natural gas Natural gas Natural gas is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, but commonly including varying amounts of other higher alkanes, and sometimes a small percentage of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, or helium. It is formed when layers of decomposing plant and animal matter are exposed to intense heat and pressure under the surface of the Earth over millions of years. The energy that the plants originally obtained from the sun is stored in the form of chemical bonds in the gas. Natural gas is a fossil fuel used as a source of energy for heating,
Billion cubic metres of natural gas Billion cubic metres of natural gas Billion cubic metres of natural gas (abbreviated: bcm) is a measure of natural gas production and trade. Depending of implied standards, this measure may represent different value of energy content. According to the standard defined by the International Energy Agency, it corresponds in average to of energy in the case of Russian natural gas and of energy in the case of Qatar's natural gas. According to the standard defined by the International Energy Agency, the gas physical volume is used, which is measured at the temperature of at atmospheric pressure. According to the Russian