Natural gas

Why natural gas matters to society

Natural gas plays an important role in modern society. Around the world, it helps provide heat, electricity and energy for industry, supporting everything from manufacturing and transportation to hospitals, schools and public services.

Beyond energy, natural gas is also used as a raw material in products people rely on every day, including fertilisers, medicines, chemicals, plastics, electronics, steel, glass and cement. Some of these uses are not always visible to consumers, but they remain essential to modern life.

One example is food production. Natural gas is the primary feedstock for ammonia, the key ingredient in nitrogen fertilisers used around the world. Natural gas also plays a role in the production of pesticides and fungicides that help protect crops from disease and spoilage.

Natural gas also contributes to energy security. In many regions, it helps countries meet energy demand when domestic resources are limited or when electricity systems come under pressure. Norway is one of the most important suppliers of natural gas to Europe.

For many people, this role is easy to take for granted. It is felt when homes stay warm during winter, factories can continue operating, hospitals have power and essential services remain available. That everyday reliability is one reason natural gas remains an important part of the energy mix in many countries.

How does natural gas reach customers?

Natural gas reaches customers through two complementary systems: pipelines and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Together, these transport routes connect gas resources with homes, businesses and industries across different markets.

Pipeline gas

For customers connected to the European gas network, pipelines are the main delivery route. Norway’s offshore gas pipeline system is one of the largest in the world, spanning around 8,800 kilometres across the North Sea.

The network is operated by Gassco, Norway’s state-owned system operator. It links producing fields on the Norwegian continental shelf with customers across Europe. Before entering the network, gas is processed at facilities such as Kårstø, Kollsnes and Nyhamna. The system can transport around 120 billion standard cubic metres of gas each year.

Liquefied natural gas, or LNG

Where pipelines are not available, LNG provides another way to reach customers. By cooling natural gas to around -162°C, it becomes a liquid that takes up far less space and can be transported efficiently by ship over long distances.

Equinor exports LNG from Hammerfest LNG on Melkøya in northern Norway. Hammerfest LNG is the only LNG export facility in Northern Europe. LNG makes it possible to deliver gas to regions that are not connected to pipeline infrastructure and provides access to global markets.

The role of natural gas in the energy transition

Natural gas is a fossil fuel and produces CO₂ when burned. Methane emissions throughout the value chain is another climate-related challenge that must be addressed. At the same time, natural gas can help lower emissions where it replaces more carbon-intensive fuels and can support technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen production.

Equinor works to reduce emissions from oil and gas production and continues to invest in measures such as electrification and carbon capture and storage to further lower emissions from its operations.

The role of natural gas in the energy transition depends on how it is used, what it replaces and how emissions are managed. In some energy systems, gas can support a move away from more carbon-intensive fuels. In others, the priority is to reduce demand, improve efficiency and scale renewable and lower-carbon solutions.

Supporting power systems with more renewables

As countries add more wind and solar power to their energy systems, electricity output can vary depending on weather conditions. Flexible gas-fired power plants can respond quickly to changes in supply and demand, helping maintain stable electricity systems while renewable capacity continues to grow.

Carbon capture and hydrogen

Carbon capture and storage can make it possible to capture CO₂ from industrial facilities and power generation and store it deep underground rather than releasing it to the atmosphere. Through projects such as Northern Lights, and the Kalundborg C0₂ storage project, Equinor is helping develop infrastructure for large-scale CO₂ transport and storage.

Natural gas can also be used to produce blue hydrogen, where most of the associated CO₂ emissions are captured and stored. Together, CCS and hydrogen can help reduce emissions from sectors that are difficult to electrify, including parts of industry and heavy transport.

Unlocking the potential in these new value chains depends on industry and policymakers working together to build the infrastructure, provide regulatory certainty and create the commercial incentives that can bring projects from concepts to scale.

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