Natural Gas to Converge With Oil Price, Exporters Say

July 2 (Bloomberg) — Natural gas, trading at a 40 percent discount to crude, may rise to reach the record price of oil as demand for cleaner-burning fuels increases, according to energy ministers from Qatar, Algeria and Iran.

U.K. natural gas sells for 71.35 pence a therm, or the equivalent of $85 a barrel based on its energy content, compared with $141 for Brent crude. British natural gas rose 38 percent this year, lagging behind the 50 percent advance in oil.

Natural-gas use worldwide rose 3.1 percent last year, almost three times faster than the 1.1 percent increase in oil, according to figures compiled by BP Plc. Gas is cleaner-burning than oil and creates half as much carbon dioxide as coal when used to generate power, helping ease the buildup of greenhouse gases blamed for climate change.

Bloomberg