Natural gas is a colourless and odourless gas that is created from organic matter that has decayed for millions of years.

People use natural gas to heat homes, cook food and power industrial facilities and vehicles.

Natural gas isn’t a liquid like gasoline or oil. It is a gas like air that is trapped in rock far below the earth’s surface. Natural gas is mostly made up of methane (85%-95%), but it also has small amounts of other gases like propane, which is used for barbeques, butane, which is used for lighters, water and other gases.

Natural gas is extracted from rock approximately 2 to 3 kilometers underground using a drilling process called hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing has been used in North America and around the world since the 1930s and is a closely regulated and monitored activity in Canada. (See www.fracfocus.ca for more info).

Current research estimates that Canada has enough natural gas reserves to meet the country’s projected domestic and export needs for at least the next 100 years.[1]

For more information:

BC LNG Alliance
BC Oil & Gas Commission
Canadian Gas Association
Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG)
LNG 101 (Government of BC)
LNG in BC
Natural Resources Canada
Ministry of Natural Gas Development

References:
[1] Natural Resources Canada