But today Professor Andy Cooper and his team of chemists at the University of Liverpool in England are figuring out how it can help energy companies like BP or Shell store and transport methane gas, the principle component of natural gas.

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If the United States is to genuinely become energy independent, then natural gas is a critical component in this shift.

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In the latest look at stocks ordered by largest market capitalization, Russell 3000 component Piedmont Natural Gas Co.

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Methane is the principal component of natural gas, and massive amounts of it are trapped in reservoirs beneath the sea floor and under a layer of the ice-like substance.

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Methane is the main component of natural gas.

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Cummins is leading global manufacturer of diesel and natural gas engines, engine-related component products, and electric power generation systems.

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It had the good fortune over the past year of seeing the price of ethylene, a basic component for plastics that is derived from oil and natural gas, rise 35% to 55 cents a pound.

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CO2 is a colorless and odorless gas, exhaled at high concentrations by each of us, and a key component of the biosphere's life cycle.

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Another investment component, about 18%, is in real assets: timber, oil and gas, property.

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