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The basics of natural gas
What is Natural Gas?
Natural gas is a gaseous, combustiblemixture of hydrocarbons, primarily methane (CH4) but also including ethane (C2H6), Propane (C3H8), Butane (C4H10) and Pentane (C5H12). It is used extensively as a clean-burning fuel across residential, commercial, and industrial applications.
Where does natural gas come from?
Origin: There are many different theories as to the origins of fossil fuels. The most widely accepted theory says that fossil fuels are formed when organic matter (such as the remains of a plant or animal) is compressed under the earth at very high pressure for a very long time. Similar to the formation of oil, natural gas is formed from organic particles that are covered in mud and other sediment. Over time, more and more sediment and mud and other debris are piled on top of the organic matter. This sediment and debris puts a great deal of pressure on the organic matter, which compresses it. This compression, combined with high temperatures found deep underneath the earth, breaks down the carbon bonds in the organic matter, resulting in the production of oil and natural gas
Migration: After natural gas is formed, it moves through tiny pores in the surrounding rocks. Some gas reachesthe surface, while other deposits travel until they are trapped under impermeable layers of rock, shale, or clay. These trapped deposits are where we find natural gas today.
Extraction: Natural gas is extracted through drilling into rock deposits that contain natural gas reservoirs. Today, the majority of U.S. gas production comes from unconventional resources, which require technologies such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to extract gas from low permeability shale and sandstone reservoirs.
What is natural gas used for?
22% of the total energy consumption in the United States currently comes from clean burning natural gas. This usage is split across many residential, commercial, power, and industrial applications.
Residential: Natural gas is used in the home for heating, hot water, cooking, clothes drying, and air conditioning, among other applications. More than 66 million homes use natural gas for heating, making it the primary form of energy for residential heating consumption.
Commercial: Natural gas is used in the commercial sector for space heating, water heating, lighting, cooking, and cooling at office buildings, schools, hospitals, government buildings, and other private and public sector enterprises.
Electric Power: Natural gas has become a very important fuel to the electric power industry due to favorable economic and environmental developments. Naturalgas fired power generation currently represents 20% of total U.S. power demand and is becoming increasingly important. In 2006, over 70% of the 13 gigawatts of generation capacity added to the U.S. energy market came from natural gas fired power plants.
Industrial: Industrial applications are the largest consumer of natural gas, using over 40% of total U.S. supply. This demand ranges across a variety of industries, including metals, chemicals, pulp and paper, petroleum refining, plastic, and food processing. Industrial gas consumption includes applications where natural gas is burned as a fuel as well as use as a chemical feedstock.
Why use natural gas?
It is clean: Natural gas is the cleanest-burning fossil fuel with significantly lower CO2 emissions and fewer pollutants than coal or oil when burned.
Significant resources exist: Assessments by the United States Geological Survey and the Minerals Management Service suggest that the U.S.US has over 1,500 trillion cubic feet of remaining gas reserves, enough to meet domestic current domestic demand for over 65 years.
It is inexpensive: Currently natural gas is priced as a significant discount to oil. Today, oil prices are at over $20/MMBTU ($120/barrel), making gas a highly attractive alternative at prices under $10/MMBTU.
It is local: Unlike oil, which relies on imports for two-thirds of demand, U.S. natural gas demand is met largely by domestic production. In 2007, over 80 percent of U.S. natural gas consumption was met by production from natural gas wells in 32 states across the U.S. and from the Gulf of Mexico.
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