Natural gas is primarily methane (CH4). Its purity makes it an environmentally friendly fuel. Methane is a nonreactive hydrocarbon, which means its emissions do not react with sunlight to create smog. Compressed natural gas (CNG) is nontoxic, noncarcinogenic and noncorrosive.
Found in large underground fields much like crude oil, natural gas isn’t feasible to transport over land due to its gaseous state. Rather, extensive underground pipelines are developed to carry it from the wellhead to customers thousands of miles away. Most U.S. households have access to a source of natural gas from a Local Distribution Company (LDC). These LDCs provide gas at pressures ranging from 4-50 psi.
Natural gas is lighter than air, making it a safe fuel for many applications. Any leakage will quickly dissipate into the atmosphere, reducing the risk of an explosion as compared to liquid fuels, which pool on the ground or pollute our groundwaters.
Where natural gas comes from
Origin - The natural gas we use today began as microscopic plants and animals living in the ocean millions of years ago. As they thrived, they absorbed energy from the sun, which was stored as carbon molecules in their bodies. When they died, they sank to the bottom of the sea and were covered by layer after layer of sediment. As the plants and animals became buried deeper in the earth, heat and pressure began to rise. The pressure, combined with a high degree of heat, compressed the biomatter and produced natural gas.
Migration - After natural gas was formed, it tended to migrate upward through tiny pores in the surrounding rock. Some natural gas seeped to the surface, while other deposits traveled until they were trapped under impermeable layers of rock, shale or clay. These trapped deposits are where we find natural gas today.
Extraction - Removal of natural gas can be accomplished through either vertical or horizontal drilling. Chesapeake uses both methods, but specializes in horizontal drilling and fracturing to extract natural gas from shale or deep rock formations. The horizontal drilling method uses vertical drilling from the surface down to a desired level. Then, the drill is turned at a right angle and bores into a gas reservoir horizontally. Fracturing is an innovative technique that involves pumping fluids or water into the wellbore with enough pressure to create fractures in the rock formation. It is this fracture through which natural gas moves into the wellbore and up to the surface.
Why you should use natural gas
It’s clean.
Natural gas is by far the cleanest-burning hydrocarbon on the planet, with much lower CO2 emissions and fewer pollutants than coal or oil when burned.
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Fossil Fuel Emission Levels
- Pounds per Billion British thermal unit (Btu) of Energy Input
|
| Pollutant |
Natural Gas |
Oil |
Coal |
| Carbon Dioxide |
117,000 |
164,000 |
208,000 |
| Carbon Monoxide |
40 |
33 |
208 |
| Nitrogen Oxides |
92 |
448 |
457 |
| Sulfur Dioxide |
1 |
1,122 |
2,591 |
| Particulates |
7 |
84 |
2,744 |
| Mercury |
0.000 |
0.007 |
0.016 |
|
Source: EIA - Natural Gas Issues and Trends
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It's abundant.
Vast new natural gas resources are being discovered every year across North America, and according to recent academic and government agency studies, we have at least a 120-year supply.
It’s affordable.
Today, with the fluctuating cost of oil per barrel, natural gas remains a highly attractive alternative at its current price.
It’s American.
Providing fuel for American homes, natural gas is a quintessentially American fuel, produced from coast to coast.
How natural gas is used
Natural gas has many residential, commercial and industrial applications. It is also increasingly used as an alternative transportation fuel. As technology is developed and implemented, additional uses are being found for natural gas.
Key uses include:
- Residential uses
- Commercial uses
- Industrial uses
- Power generation
- Transportation fuel