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Natural Gas - The Production Of Natural Gas, Transmission Of Natural Gas, Domestic Natural Gas Consumption, Natural Gas Prices
oil energy united texas
Natural gas is an important source of energy in the United States. Methane, ethane, and propane are the primary constituents of natural gas, with methane making up 73 to 95% of the total.
The natural gas industry developed out of the petroleum industry. Wells drilled for oil often produced considerable amounts of natural gas, but early oilmen had no idea what to do with it. Originally considered a waste by-product of oil production, natural gas had no market, nor were transmission lines available to deliver it
even if a use had been known. As a result, the gas was burned off, or flared. Pictures of southeast Texas in the early twentieth century show thousands of wooden drilling rigs topped with plumes of gas flaming like burning candles. Even today, flaring sites are sometimes the brightest areas visible in nighttime satellite images, outshining even the largest urban areas.
Nonetheless, researchers soon found ways to use natural gas. In 1925 the first natural gas pipeline, more than 200 miles long, was built from Louisiana to Texas. U.S. demand grew rapidly, especially after World War II. By the 1950s natural gas was providing one-quarter of the nation's energy needs. In the early 2000s natural
gas was second only to coal in the share of U.S. energy produced. Crude oil was third. (See Table 1.1 in Chapter 1.) A vast pipeline transmission system connects production facilities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico with natural gas distributors. Figure 3.1 shows the production and consumption figures for natural gas for 2003. Figure 3.2 shows the pattern of natural gas supply and
distribution in the United States in 2002.
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Natural gas is produced from gas and oil wells. There is little delay between production and consumption, except for gas that is placed in storage. Changes in demand are almost immediately reflected by changes in wellhead flows, or supply. Total U.S. natural gas production in 2003 was 19.1 trillion cubic feet, below the peak
levels produced from 1969 to 1975. (See Figure 3.3.) According to the Ene…
A vast network of natural gas pipelines crisscrosses the United States, connecting every state except Alaska, Hawaii, and Vermont. (Vermont receives its gas directly from Canada and is not connected to the U.S. pipeline.) FIGURE 3.7 The natural gas in this quarter-million-mile system generally flows northeastward, primarily
from Texas and Louisiana, the two major gas-producing states, and to …
Nationally, natural gas consumption rose from 1949 through 1973, then declined through 1986. Since 1986 natural gas consumption has been generally rising, hitting an all-time high of 23.3 trillion cubic feet in 2000, then declining to 21.9 trillion cubic feet by 2003. (See Table 3.2.) In 2003, 32% of the natural gas was used
by industry, 23% by residences, 22% by electric utilities, and 14% by com…
Natural gas prices can vary because of differing federal and state rate structures. Region also plays a role—for example, prices are lower in major natural gas-producing areas where transmission costs are lower. From the mid-twentieth century through the early 1970s, natural gas prices were relatively stable. (See Figure
3.10.) Thereafter, deregulation and industry restructuring brought abo…
U.S. natural gas trading was limited to the neighboring countries of Mexico and Canada until shipping natural gas in liquefied form became a feasible alternative to pipelines. In 1969 the first shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) were sent from Alaska to Japan, and U.S. imports of LNG from Algeria began the following
year. In 2003 U.S. net imports of natural gas by all routes totaled 3.2 tril…
In its 2004 publication Annual Energy Outlook 2004, the EIA projects energy supply, demand, and prices through 2025, predicting that natural gas production will increase steadily, as will consumption, pipeline expansion, and imports. Natural gas prices for residential customers are projected to rise by 9% from 2002 to 2025.
Total domestic natural gas production is projected to increase from 2002 l…
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