What is Natural Gas?
Natural gas (mostly methane) is extracted from underground reservoirs alongside or independently from oil. Major US benchmark: Henry Hub (Louisiana). Europe: TTF (Netherlands). Asia: JKM (Japan-Korea Marker for LNG). Unlike oil, gas markets are regional because seaborne LNG transport is expensive and infrastructure-limited.
Why it matters for investors
Natural gas is the swing fuel for power generation in many countries — it complements renewables (wind/solar) and increasingly competes with coal. Winter weather, storage levels, LNG export capacity, and industrial demand drive prices. The Russia-Ukraine war fundamentally restructured European gas markets, with EU now reliant on US LNG and Norwegian pipeline gas.