From powering data centers to keeping the lights on for homes and businesses around the world, natural gas delivers energy where and when it’s needed.
Natural gas provides reliable energy to homes, businesses and essential services.
Natural gas is easy to overlook. Yet it helps keep electricity flowing, factories operating and data centers processing information. Its role is also evolving as global energy demand grows and customers seek reliable, flexible supplies. This dynamic will be central in conversations at Gastech 2026, one of the world's leading natural gas and liquefied natural gas conferences.
Here are five facts about natural gas that might surprise you!
1. Natural gas does much more than heat homes and cook food.
The familiar blue flame on a gas stove is only a small part of the natural gas story.
Natural gas supports electricity generation and industries that produce materials and goods used every day. Its role is becoming even more important as industrialization and AI data centers add to global electricity demand.
Countries are not simply looking for more energy. They are looking for energy that can be delivered reliably, and at the scale required to support economic growth.
That is one reason natural gas remains one of the world’s most important energy sources and an important part of the conversation about the global energy systems of the future.
Did you know?
According to a 2021 IEA report, global energy use is projected to increase by nearly 50% from 2020 to 2050, driven largely by population and economic growth in developing countries.
2. Liquefied natural gas is natural gas in a form that is easier to transport.
Natural gas and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) are the same energy source. The difference is physical. When natural gas is cooled to approximately minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 162 degrees Celsius), it becomes a liquid. In that form, it takes up far less space and can be transported by ship to markets that may not be connected to gas-producing regions by pipeline.
To put it another way, liquefaction gives natural gas a passport.
Infographic showing natural gas cooled to -260°F (-162°C), where it becomes liquified natural gas, a liquid form compact enough to transport by ship.
Liquefaction allows natural gas from one part of the world to reach customers thousands of miles away, connecting energy resources with the countries and communities that need them. When natural gas is cooled to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 162 degrees Celsius), it becomes a liquid and takes up approximately 1/600 of its original volume.
3. Flexibility is what can turn energy supply into energy security.
Having enough natural gas is only part of energy security. Countries and customers also need the ability to respond when demand changes or supply is disrupted.
That flexibility comes from the system surrounding the molecule: production from different regions, liquefaction facilities, storage, shipping capacity, receiving terminals and the commercial relationships that connect them.
Chevron’s natural gas portfolio spans Australia, the United States, the Eastern Mediterranean, South America, West Africa and Asia. That portfolio continues to evolve alongside customer demand.
A geographically diverse portfolio backed by solid infrastructure and partnerships can provide more ways to connect supply with demand as market conditions change. Those options can help improve resilience when market conditions change.
“Infrastructure doesn’t just move energy. It creates options,” said Freeman Shaheen, president of Chevron Global Gas.
Did you know?
Since 2016, Chevron has shipped more than 3,000 LNG cargoes from Australia, a tangible example of how long-term supply becomes real-world energy security. Three thousand LNG cargoes carry enough energy to power Japan’s gas-fired electricity generation for nearly five years.
4. With liquefied natural gas, innovation can start with something as old as wind.
A visible example of Chevron’s practical innovation in the area of natural gas is taking shape on the water. The FUJIN SAILOR is a new LNG carrier that will join Chevron’s fleet under long-term charter and is equipped with two Wind Challenger hard sails. Developed through collaboration among Chevron, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Hanwha Ocean, it is the world’s first LNG carrier equipped with this wind-assisted propulsion system.
The telescopic sails are designed to harness wind alongside the vessel’s conventional propulsion system, helping reduce fuel consumption and associated emissions while the ship transports LNG.
The vessel’s naming ceremony took place in South Korea on September 10, 2026, and Molly Laegler, president of Supply & Trading, is serving as her Godmother.
The vessel demonstrates that innovation does not always mean replacing an entire system. Sometimes it means finding a smarter way to improve the system already in place.
A new LNG carrier to join Chevron’s fleet under long-term charter is equipped with two Wind Challenger hard sails.
FUJIN SAILOR is the world's first LNG carrier equipped with a wind-assisted propulsion system, and also the world's first vessel of any type equipped with two Wind Challenger units.
5. Energy assets have a lifecycle.
Just like people eventually retire, oil and gas platforms do too. When an offshore asset reaches the end of its production life, the work isn’t over. Wells must be plugged, pipelines decommissioned, and structures lifted, removed and dismantled. It’s a lesser known but essential part of the energy lifecycle.
Did you know?
Offshore platforms eventually have to be removed. Thailand’s largest decommissioning project retired 52 of them in 2025. The effort included approaches such as topside platform reuse, total platform reuse and rigs-to-reefs, helping reduce waste and create new value from aging infrastructure.
It takes people, infrastructure, ships, technology and long-term partnerships to move energy from where it is produced to where it is needed. It also takes innovation and diligence at every stage, from developing and operating assets to safely managing them at the end of their lives.
Source: Chevron
