Natural gas is a colorless, odorless, naturally occurring gaseous mixture of hydrocarbon components.  Natural gas is used in a variety of applications, such as feedstock in fertilizer in the petrochemical industry and as fuel in the power generation manufacturing of steel, textile, ceramic, glass and other industrial products.  As a fuel, natural gas competes with a range of alternative products such as coal and lignite as well as petroleum products such as liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha, high speed diesel, light diesel oil and fuel oil.  However, due to lower fuel, operating costs and better combustion characteristics, natural gas has distinct economic advantages over other sources of energy.  In addition, natural gas has substantial environmental advantages over other energy sources, due to lower emissions. 

Worldwide, the percentage of global primary energy consumption of natural gas rose from 19% in 1980 to 24% in 2002. High growth in demand of natural gas is expected to occur in developing countries at a rate of 3.9% per year between 2001 and 2025. The Indian natural gas market is relatively underdeveloped compared to other regions of the world. By the years 2024 to 2025, the share of natural gas would increase to 20% of total primary energy consumption, according to Hydrocarbon Vision 2025.