| Natural
gas uses
Natural
gas is used extensively in residential, commercial and industrial
applications. It is the dominant energy used for home heating
with about 55 percent of American homes using gas. The use
of natural gas is also rapidly increasing in electric power
generation and cooling, and as a transportation fuel.
About
46 percent of natural gas delivered to U.S. consumers is used
in the industrial sector, providing energy for everything
from mining minerals to processing food. Generating electricity
consumes about 15 percent. Another 15 percent is used in the
commercial market -- for heating and cooling office buildings,
hospitals and schools, and for cooking in restaurants. Most
of the remaining amount -- about 22 percent -- is used in
the residential market, providing energy for home heating,
hot water, cooking, clothes drying and air conditioning.
Natural
gas is delivered to about 175 million American consumers through
a 1.3 million-mile network of underground pipe. A total of
288,000 producing natural gas wells, 125 natural gas pipeline
companies and more than 1,200 gas distribution companies provide
gas service to all 50 states. The United States accounts for
about 24 percent of the world's natural gas production each
year.
|
