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,
Natural gas prices import gas based on the Henry Hub index, which was, until very recently, the most widely used reference for US natural gas prices. Depending on the marketplace, the price of natural gas is expressed in US dollars (or other currency) per 1 million British thermal units (MMBtu), thousand cubic feet (Mcf), or 1,000 cubic meters. Note that, for natural gas price comparisons, $ per MMBtu multiplied by 1.025 = $ per Mcf of pipeline-quality gas, which is what is delivered to consumers. For rough comparisons, one million Btu is approximately equal to a thousand cubic feet of natural gas. Pipeline-quality