ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Natural-gas condensate

So, imagine you have a bottle of water that got so cold that some of it turned into ice. Now, what if I told you that sometimes when companies take natural gas out of the ground, they also get some oil and a special kind of water that's like the ice in your bottle? That special water is called natural-gas condensate.

Natural-gas condensate looks like a clear liquid that's a bit oily. It contains all the same kinds of things that natural gas has, like methane, but also has some heavier molecules like butane or propane. That makes it different from regular crude oil, which doesn't usually have much of that stuff.

Since natural-gas condensate has those extra molecules, companies can use it to make things like gasoline, jet fuel, and even plastics. They have to use special equipment to separate the different molecules and get rid of any impurities, but once they're done they can sell it for a lot of money!

So now you know that natural-gas condensate is a special kind of water that comes out of the ground with natural gas, and that companies can use it to make all kinds of useful things.