
Natural gas
We are helping to meet growing global energy demand and limit CO2 emissions with cleaner-burning natural gas. It powers, heats and cools industries, homes and businesses, and it can be a good partner to renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Natural gas can also be used as a lower-carbon fuel for ships, trucks, buses and trains.
Global demand for natural gas, could rise by more than half by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency.
Natural gas is the cleanest-burning hydrocarbon. We explore for it, and produce it, on and offshore. It makes up more than half of our production today.
Advantages of natural gas
Natural gas is the cleanest-burning hydrocarbon, producing around half the carbon dioxide (CO2) and just one tenth of the air pollutants of coal when burnt to generate electricity.
It is abundant. If consumption remained at today’s levels, there would be enough recoverable gas resources to last around 230 years.
It is versatile. A gas-fired power station takes much less time to start and stop than a coal-fired plant. This flexibility makes natural gas a good partner to renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, which are only available when the sun shines and the wind blows.
Why is natural gas good?
Title: Natural Gas is Good for Me
Duration : 0.54
Description
We use energy every day from the moment we wake up to our alarm clocks the minutes before we fall asleep. Learn how natural gas is supporting our world's growing demand for energy in a way that is reliable and sustainable. This video is presented as Kinetic Typography, meaning text on screen replicates what is said in the voice over in interesting and illustrative ways.
Voice Over
Each day, you wake up. You use the phone, the computer, transport. You use energy.
Animated Sequence
‘Each Day’ is displayed on a stylized calendar,
‘You Wake up’ is on the face of a digital alarm clock
‘You use the phone’ is swiped by a finger across a phone
‘The Computer’ is displayed on a laptop screen’
‘Transport’ is written on the side of a bus that moves to the right.
‘You Use Energy’ is displayed with cartoon lightning bolts to its sides.
Voice Over
And as the world uses more energy, we need to provide power that is available and environmentally sustainable.
Animated Sequence
'And as the world uses more energy’ is displayed over a globe with cartoon lightning bolts in the background
‘we need to provide power’ is displayed as hands enter the frame from the bottom
‘that is available and environmentally sustainable’ is displayed in the center of the page as pipes, plants and blue flames animate around it.
Voice Over
{Producing one-tenth of the air pollutants as coal when burnt to generate electricity, natural gas can provide positive environmental and health benefits to our cities and towns.}
Animated sequence
‘Producing one-tenth of the air pollutants as coal when burnt to generate electricity’ is displayed, a lightbulb is added to the end of ‘electricity’
‘natural gas’ is displayed down the side of cooling towers on a natural gas plant, a background of syk and tress with pipes at the bottom.
‘can provide positive environmental’ is displayed to the side of the gas plant
‘and health benefits’ rises up on the left inside a white medical cross.
‘to our cities and towns’ text is displayed on the right. Buildings and houses rise up from the background.
Voice Over
{These benefits, coupled with natural gas’ nearly global reach, ensures that natural gas can play a key role in the energy mix, regardless of where you live.}
Animated Sequence
‘These benefits’ displays with a tick above the text.
‘coupled with natural gas’ nearly global reach’ displays above an ocean with LNG tankers floating on it. ‘Natural Gas’ is written on the side of the main, largest tanker.
‘ensures that natural gas’ displays over a background of pipes, and a subtle map of the United States ‘Gas’ is accompanied by a blue flame
‘can play a key role in the energy mix’, displays ‘Key’ is written over a picture of a Key.
‘Regardless of where you live.’ The shot pulls back to display a globe with pipes covering it. The words display on the globe, and the LNG Tankers move around it.
Voice Over
Renewable energy is crucial to our future. But as they develop, and when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine, natural gas can keep our lives powered reliably and sustainably.
Animated Sequence
‘Renewable energy is crucial to our future’ displays over a blue sky and green field. Solar panels and a bright sun to the right, wind turbines to the left.
‘But as they develop’ is displayed over a large cog in the middle of the field.
‘when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine’ is written in the center of the screen. A cloud moves in front of the sun and the wind turbines stop spinning.
‘natural gas can keep our lives’ displays, Gas, accompanied with a blue flame, and ‘our lives’ with hands either side.
‘powered reliably’ is pictured with the blue gas flame above it and arrows circling the word.
‘and sustainably’ is pictured with leaves around the word.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG)
We cool natural gas to -162° Celsius (-260° Fahrenheit), turning it into a liquid and reducing its volume by 600 times, which makes it easy and economical to ship to energy-hungry places around the world. We also turn LNG back into gas for distribution to homes and businesses.
As a pioneer of LNG, Shell provided the technology for the world’s first commercial LNG plant in 1964, and shipped the very first commercial cargo, starting a global trade. We have been designing and building LNG plants.
Learn more about LNG on our global website
Floating LNG (FLNG)
Traditionally, LNG plants are built on land. But Shell is building a giant floating facility to produce liquefied natural gas at sea, Prelude FLNG. It will also be the largest offshore floating facility ever built – 488 metres (1,600 feet) long and 74m (243ft) wide.
Shell has developed revolutionary technology that allows gas to be produced, liquefied, stored and offloaded into LNG carriers at sea. It allows clusters of smaller, remote fields to be unlocked by one FLNG facility, or larger fields to be served by several FLNG facilities.

LNG for transport
Natural gas could form a bigger part of the transport energy mix as a lower-carbon fuel, alongside developments in vehicle efficiency, biofuels, hydrogen and electric mobility.
We are exploring the use of LNG as a transport fuel for trucks and ships with potential economic and environmental benefits compared to diesel and fuel oil. Other uses include in trains, the mining sector and industrial applications. We are also looking at ways to use LNG more in our own operations.
Read more about LNG as a transport fuel on our global website
Gas-to-liquids (GTL)
Shell’s gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology converts natural gas into high-quality liquid products that would otherwise be made from crude oil. These include transportation fuels, motor oils and the ingredients for everyday necessities like plastics, detergents and cosmetics.
GTL products are colourless and odourless. They contain almost none of the impurities – sulphur, aromatics and nitrogen –found in crude oil.
Learn more about gas-to-liquids (GTL) on our global website
Tight and shale gas
[Add local content]
More in Energy and Innovation
The energy future
We are using our know-how, technology and innovation to deliver more and cleaner energy for the world's growing population.
Overcoming technology challenges
We develop innovative technologies to find and safely unlock more, and affordable, energy from ever harder-to-reach places.