How Natural Gas Formed

Natural gas, primarily composed of methane, forms from the thermal breakdown of ancient organic matter under heat and pressure. Its storage depends on rock porosity and permeability, with deposits categorized as conventional or unconventional. In the United States, the Energy Information Administration estimated 2,203 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas in 2009, though global reserves are significantly higher, with Russia holding the largest share.

• Natural gas is a fossil fuel primarily composed of methane, which is a potent global warming pollutant that is more than 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.
• Natural gas forms when organic matter from ancient marine microorganisms is buried in oxygen-free environments and undergoes thermal breakdown due to heat and pressure, converting it into hydrocarbons.
• The ability of rock to store and transmit natural gas is determined by porosity (the amount of empty space within rock grains) and permeability (the degree to which those pore spaces are interconnected).
• In 2009, the US Energy Information Administration estimated that the United States had 2,203 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, with conventional resources making up 46 percent (1,009 trillion cubic feet) of that base.
• Global natural gas reserves are estimated at 6,707 trillion cubic feet, with Russia possessing the largest reserves, five times those of the United States as of 2012.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2014). How Natural Gas Formed. https://www.ucs.org/resources/how-natural-gas-formed

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. How Natural Gas Formed. 2014. https://www.ucs.org/resources/how-natural-gas-formed.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=How Natural Gas Formed |date=19 June 2014 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/how-natural-gas-formed |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2014how, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{How Natural Gas Formed}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2014}, month = jun, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/how-natural-gas-formed}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }