Oil vs Natural Gas: The Same Energy, Wildly Different Prices
On equal energy terms, oil costs $16.89 per MMBtu at the latest WTI close while US natural gas costs $3.08 — a 5.5× premium for oil's portability. Here's the comparison that explains a century of fuel switching, computed live from the 2026-10-19 closes.
Energy-Parity Scorecard (live)
| WTI Crude | Henry Hub Gas | |
|---|---|---|
| Last close | $97.97/bbl | $3.083/MMBtu |
| Price per MMBtu | $16.89 | $3.08 |
| Oil-to-gas ratio | 31.8 (energy parity ≈ 6) | |
| Priced by | Global market | US storage & weather (until LNG links it out) |
| Dominant uses | Transport, petrochemicals | Power, heating, industry, LNG export |
Conversion: 1 barrel ≈ 5.8 MMBtu (see barrel of oil and the energy converter). Live quotes: WTI · natural gas; the export link-up is covered in what is LNG.
WTI-to-Henry-Hub ratio: Where It Stands
Daily closes through Oct 19, 2026| Measure | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 5.5 x | −0.1 on the day |
| Average, last 252 trading days | 4.4 | latest is above it by 1.1 |
| Highest in that window | 7.0 | Apr 29, 2026 |
| Lowest in that window | 1.5 | Jan 28, 2026 |
| Percentile | 79% | higher than 79% of the past 252 closes |
| A year earlier | 2.9 | change +2.6 |
The ratio is WTI ($/bbl ÷ 5.8 MMBtu per barrel) divided by Henry Hub ($/MMBtu); 1x would mean oil and gas cost the same per unit of energy. Annual averages back to 2001 are on natural gas price history. Computed on the dates both legs have a close, from this site's two-year daily history (from Oct 21, 2024). Descriptive statistics, not a forecast.
WTI-to-Henry-Hub ratio by Month, Last 12 Months
| Month | Average | High | Low | Month-end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2026 TO DATE | 5.1 | 5.6 | 4.8 | 5.5 |
| Sep 2026 | 5.6 | 6.3 | 4.9 | 5.2 |
| Aug 2026 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 5.0 |
| Jul 2026 | 4.7 | 5.5 | 3.6 | 5.3 |
| Jun 2026 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| May 2026 | 5.8 | 6.4 | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Apr 2026 | 6.3 | 7.0 | 5.4 | 6.5 |
| Mar 2026 | 5.2 | 6.1 | 4.1 | 6.1 |
| Feb 2026 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 4.0 |
| Jan 2026 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 2.6 |
| Dec 2025 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 2.7 |
| Nov 2025 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
Calendar-month statistics of the daily values; the current month is partial. Live prices behind it: oil price charts.
Oil vs Gas FAQ
Which is cheaper per unit of energy, oil or natural gas?
US natural gas, by a wide margin. At the latest closes (2026-10-19), WTI works out to $16.89 per MMBtu of energy (at 5.8 MMBtu per barrel) versus $3.08 for Henry Hub gas — oil energy costs about 5.5× more. This is why industries that CAN switch to gas (power, chemicals, heating) largely have.
What is the oil-to-gas ratio?
The WTI price divided by the Henry Hub price: currently about 32 (97.97 ÷ 3.08). Energy parity would be ~6, so a ratio far above that — the norm since shale — means gas is cheap relative to oil. Traders watch the ratio for fuel-switching economics and drilling incentives (high ratio pushes rigs toward oil).
How has the oil-to-gas ratio changed over the past year?
The WTI-to-Henry-Hub ratio, with oil converted at 5.8 MMBtu a barrel, is 5.5x today against a one-year average of 4.4x. Over the past 252 trading days it has ranged from 1.5x (Jan 28, 2026) to 7.0x (Apr 29, 2026). A higher ratio means oil is expensive relative to gas for the same energy.
Why doesn't cheap natural gas replace oil in cars?
Energy density and infrastructure. Gasoline carries far more energy per unit volume than compressed gas, refueling infrastructure is universal, and vehicles are the one sector where oil's portability advantage is decisive. Gas conquered electricity and industry instead — and reaches transport indirectly, via LNG-fueled ships and gas-derived electricity charging EVs.
Do oil and gas prices move together?
Less than they used to. They share supply-side drivers (both often flow from the same wells) and broad demand cycles, but shale broke the old link: US gas is priced by domestic storage and weather, oil by the global market. The 2022 divergence was stark — European gas traded at an oil-equivalent of $400+/bbl while Henry Hub stayed under $10/MMBtu.