Natural gas consisting primarily of methane can be found alone, associated with crude oil, in coal beds, or created by organisms in landfills and marshes. It is a major fuel source for everything from homes to power plants to industrial processes. Gas is transported via a huge pipeline networks that tie production areas to power plants, industries and residences. Not only is it an important fuel source producing after processing ethane, propane, and butane, it is a major feedstock for fertilizer and other substances. In addition to providing news and information on the sector, Platts assesses prices of natural gas in Europe and North America.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is primarily methane that has been converted to a liquid for easy transportation by tanker and storage. The LNG market is one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing markets in the world. Platts not only assesses the price of this fuel, but also covers news and supply and demand factors around the globe. Natural gas demand is increasing throughout the world because it burns cleaner than oil and refined products, and therefore contributes less to global warming, whether it's used to generate electricity, as a transportation fuel in vehicles, or by industries. Markets with very different dynamics are being linked together by the LNG trade, meaning that even supply and demand developments in land-locked countries can affect the global market.
Many countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas don't produce enough natural gas to meet their demand, so they must import LNG. Despite ample domestic supplies, the United States is often utilized as an outlet for LNG volumes when they are not needed in other parts of the world. Those volumes come to the U.S. because there is ample underground storage capacity and a liquid market for regasified LNG. U.S. natural gas prices can be affected when large volumes of LNG come to the U.S. for storage.