What are Oil and Gas Used For?

Petroleum, whether natural gas or oil, plays an important role in our daily lives. Find out more about when and where it is used.

Domestic Uses

Cooking

Cooking with natural gas costs approximately half as much as cooking with electricity. It is quick to heat and the temperature is easy to change.

Heating and cooling

Temperature regulation is one of the most popular applications of natural gas. It is an energy efficient and convenient approach to both heating and cooling, and like cooking it is easy to control the temperature. Natural gas air-conditioners require less maintenance and have lower ongoing costs than other cooling methods.

Appliances

A number of appliances including barbecues, outdoor lights, bar heaters, tumble dryers, pool heaters and fireplaces can be powered safely and efficiently by natural gas.

Commercial Uses

The commercial applications of natural gas are similar to the residential uses. As natural gas is extremely efficient and economical, it is widely used in this sector for heating and cooling and, because it is piped in, it does not need to be stored, simplifying energy logistics. It also produces far less emissions than all other forms of fossil fuel energy.

Electricity Generation

Natural gas can be used to generate electricity in a number of ways. Often it can be used in the same way as other fossil fuels as a cleaner alternative.

Transportation

Natural gas is a viable alternative fuel particularly useful in the transportation sector.