“What oil was to the twentieth century, natural gas will be to the twenty-first,” according to an article in The Nation. Natural gas is becoming an increasingly important component in politics and international relations around the world, with new coalitions forming around the availability and accessibility of the new global fuel of choice.

The U.S. now relies on natural gas for approximately a quarter of its energy needs, second only to petroleum. Natural gas provides approximately 14 percent of the energy used to generate electricity in the United States, 45 percent of home heating fuel, and 31 percent of the energy needed for agriculture and industry. Gas is also used to manufacture hydrogen, which is seen as a potentially important alternative fuel.

Currently, the U.S. gets most of its natural gas from North American sources, but those supplies are dwindling. In the near future, America may find itself turning again to foreign suppliers for another vital energy source. The same is true for many other developed countries, and as natural gas emerges as an increasingly important fuel, the pieces on the world’s chess board are beginning to shift.

Read the Full Story: The Geopolitics of Natural Gas -- The Nation