Natural gas is effectively free for the Gulf states as it’s a byproduct of oil drilling. Compared to oil it’s harder to store and transport, and there aren’t a

Natural gas is effectively free for the Gulf states as it’s a byproduct of oil drilling. Compared to oil it’s harder to store and transport, and there aren’t any gas pipelines from the Gulf to neighbouring areas (unlike say Russia). If you fly over the Gulf at night, you’ll see the sea lit up from oil rigs just burning it off, so it makes sense to use it to fuel heavy industry. The primary constituent of natural gas is methane, which has a much worse greenhouse effect than CO2, so it’s ‘greener’ to burn it rather than just releasing it into the atmosphere.