Natural Gas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U01EK76Sy4A

Outline
Natural

gas fast facts

Reserves and trade
Evolution of supplies
US Picture
Latest developments

Fast Facts

Natural Gas Fast Facts

The cleanest fossil fuel
Mostly methane
Critical to agriculture (for

food processing and

fertilizer)
Industrial use (about 45%; pulp and paper, cement
and asphalt, chemicals, plastics, and petroleum
refining)
Per capita, we use about a dumpster's worth of gas
each day.
Each year, Americans use as much natural gas as
3 billion people in Europe and Asia
300 Bcfd is equivalent to about 50 million barrels
of oil per day, OR 6 Bcfd = 1 million barrels of oil
per day

U.S. use of natural gas

Natural Gas
Constituents

Comparison of Air Pollution from the

Combustion of Fossil Fuels
(kilograms of emission per TJ of energy consumed)

Natural
Gas

Oil

Coal

Nitrogen
Oxides

43

142

359

Sulfur
Dioxide

0.3

430

731

36

1 333

Particulates

Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; American Gas Association

Sources of Natural Gas

Conventional
CBM
LNG
Shale gas
Gas hydrates

Gas Source Trends

Unconventional Gas

Natural Gas
Distribution

US Energy Mapping
System
http://www.eia.gov/state/maps.cf
m?v=Fossil%20Fuel%20Resources

Reserves and
Trade

Natural Gas Reserves

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_natural_gas_proven_reserves

Natural Gas in Iran

Around 62% of Iranian
natural gas is located
in non associated
fields, (i.e., not
associated with oil
production and
therefore
undeveloped). South
Pars is the largest non
associated field in
Iran and represents
45% of Iranian gas
reserves. China and
India both have
recently signed deals
with Iran for natural
gas.

Natural Gas in
Saudi Arabia

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/atlas_middle_
east/saudi_arabia_econ.jpg
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/topstory/7922/7922no
tw3.html

Gas Trade
(Russia dominates)
http://www.lngpedia.com/

http://www.lngpedia.com/

North Asian Gas & Pipelines

www.iea.org/textbase/work/2004/seoul/HeungBok_Lee.pdf

Latin America

Proven Natural Gas Reserves in

South America
(trillion cubic feet)

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Bolivia/NaturalGas.html

International Mapping

https://www.eia.gov/beta/international/

U.S. Natural Gas

Picture

http://205.254.135.7/energy_in_brief/about_shale_gas.cf

Natural Gas
Consumption

There has been a major upswing in the use of natural gas for power
generation, starting in the late 1980s and then again in 2011.

Latest
Developments

Coal Bed Methane

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/rpd/cbmusa2.pdf

LNG

LNG Basics
Liquefied

natural gas, or LNG, is natural gas in its liquid form. When

natural gas is cooled to minus 259 degrees Fahrenheit (-161 degrees
Celsius), it becomes a clear, colorless, odorless liquid. LNG is neither
corrosive nor toxic.
Natural gas is primarily methane, with low concentrations of other
hydrocarbons, water, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen and some
sulfur compounds.
During the process known as liquefaction, natural gas is cooled below
its boiling point, removing most of these compounds. The remaining
natural gas is primarily methane with only small amounts of other
hydrocarbons. LNG weighs less than half the weight of water so it will
float if spilled on water.
There are 60 LNG receiving terminals located worldwide. Japan,
South Korea, the United State and a number of European Counties
import LNG.

Potential LNG Supply and

Demand

http://www.woodmacresearch.com/content/portal/energy/highlights/wk4_Apr_07/Slides.pdf?
hls=true

LNG Tanker

Existing U.S. LNG Terminals and

New Planned in North America

Source: EIA

Source: http://www.oildompublishing.com/PipelineConference/2010/presentations10/NATURAL_GAS_ROUNDTABLE__J_MARK_ROBINSON.pdf

Cabrillo Port Liquefied Natural

Gas Deepwater Port

Final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the Cabrillo Port Liquefied Natural
Gas Deepwater Port.
http://www.slc.ca.gov/division_pages/DEPM/DEPM_Programs_and_Reports/BHP_Deep_Water_Port/BHP_Final_

Submerged Combustion Vaporizer Process

Schematic
Final Environmental
Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the Cabrillo Port Liquefied Natural
Gas Deepwater Port.
http://www.slc.ca.gov/division_pages/DEPM/DEPM_Programs_and_Reports/BHP_Deep_Water_Port/BHP_Final_

Shale Gas

Fracking (horizontal slickwater

fracking)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB3FOJjpy7s

Preliminary studies have identified over

688 shales in 142 basins

(red = active exploitation)

Source: Hopkins, Schlumberger. http://www.worldenergy.org/documents/shalegasreport.pdf

Estimated Shale Gas Resource Potential - 2010

Source: IGU 2003, VNIIGAS 2007, USGS 2008, BGR 2009. In Hopkins, Schlumberger.
http://www.worldenergy.org/documents/shalegasreport.pdf

Modern Shale Gas Development

in the United States

http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/oil-gas/publications/EPreports/Shale_Gas_Primer_2009.p

Shale gas production in the United States is more than five times as
great now as it was in 2006, and the country surpassed Russia as the
worlds leading gas producer in 2009. A drilling rig in Pennsylvania
contributes to the surge. Credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News

Potential Environmental Impacts

of Shale Gas Development
Drill Pad Construction and Operation
Groundwater Contamination (most
controversial issue)
Hydraulic Fracturing and Flowback Water
Management (another controversial issue)
Blowouts and House Explosions
Water Consumption and Supply
Spill Management and Surface Water Protection
Small earthquakes from injecting fracking
wastewaters in deep underground reservoirs
(Youngstown, Ohio, December 31, 2011, 2.7 and
4.0 Richter Magnitude earthquakes possibly
caused by injection fluids)

Gas Hydrates

Ice that burns

Gas Hydrates
Well-log responses attributed
to the presence of gas
hydrates have been obtained
in about one-fifth of the wells
drilled in the Canadian Arctic
Mackenzie Delta, and more
than half of the wells in the
Arctic Islands are inferred to
contain gas hydrates. The
Mallik area alone contains
methane-hydrate reserves of
more than 4 billion cubic
meters per square kilometer
http://unoilgas.org/methane-hydrates.htm

Gas Hydrate Locations

http://unoilgas.org/methane-hydrates.htm

Review of Natural Gas

Globally,

natural gas was the fuel that experienced the most rapid decline in
consumption, falling by 2.1%, the largest decline on record. Consumption
declined in all regions except the Middle East and Asia Pacific.
Russia had the worlds largest decline (in volumetric terms), with consumption
falling by 6.1%.
OECD consumption fell by 3.1%, the largest decline since 1982; the decline in
the US was a relatively modest 1.5%, as weak prices improved gass
competitive standing against other fuels.
Iran saw the worlds largest volumetric consumption growth, while Indian
consumption growth of 25.9% was the highest among major countries in
percentage terms.
Global gas production declined for the first time on record.
Production fell sharply in Russia (-12.1%) and Turkmenistan (-44.8%),
driven by declining consumption in Russia and much of the rest of
Europe and the availability in Europe of competitively priced liquefied
natural gas (LNG).
Continued expansion of unconventional supplies allowed the US to record the
worlds largest increase in production for the third consecutive year, surpassing
Russia as the worlds largest producer.
Production in the Middle East and Asia Pacific also increased, driven by growth
in Iran, Qatar, India and China.
Global natural gas trade (excluding intra-FSU trade) contracted by 2.1% in
2009; pipeline shipments contracted by 5.8%, more than offsetting a 7.6%
increase in LNG trade.
The continued ramp-up of Qatari exports and the emergence of Russia as an

End

Shale Gas Basics

The

gas in the shale is in two principal forms. One is free gas, much as it is
in conventional reservoirs. The other is adsorbed gas, wherein the gas is on
the surface of organic matter (again higher TOC is good). It is released when
the pressure drops through production of the free gas.
Technology starts with exploration and in many cases this process is much
easier technically compared to the search for conventional hydrocarbons.
The geologic risk of not finding the deposits is low. However, finding
sufficiently large occurrences with recoverable quantities is the key. The vital
metric of interest is the Total Organic Carbon (TOC). Commercial deposits in
the US run from about 4-10%. A higher number is indicative of more gas.
It is unknown how many of the identified shales around the world are
thermally mature, gas prone or potentially productive. Of the 688 shale
formations, only a few dozen have been explored for production capacities.
Consequently, resource and reserve estimates can be susceptible to
substantial change as exploration progresses to new shale formations.
Further, geological evidence suggests that shale gas may, in fact, be almost
ubiquitous.

Shale Gas Threatens

LNG
Global

companies have invested billions in establishing an

international market for LNG which now seems threatened by the vast
and dispersed resource of shale gas.
Liquefaction and transport carries a cost of approximately US$3.00 to
US$4.09 per mBTU. As a result, LNG costs face headwinds competing
in markets that have increasing supply of low cost shale gas coming
on-line.
The addition of shale gas supplies is likely to put downward price
pressure on natural gas. Expected low natural gas prices will shift
demand away from higher priced energy to the lower priced gas.
Low gas prices over the long term will make it very difficult to
implement high-capital-cost clean coal technologies, particularly given
the public perception of coal production and use versus natural gas. It
will also impact the economic justification of CCS and likely delay its
implementation for years, depending upon the cost of carbon
emissions.

Explaining the Rise in Gas

Shale Reserves
The

transformation in shale gas production has

been achieved largely by a combination of horizontal
drilling with hydraulic fracturing. In this procedure, a
well is sunk to a depth somewhat less than that of a
known shale gas deposit and then gradually deviated
until the drill-bit is running horizontally through the
shale bed. Once drilling has been terminated, the
rock surrounding the horizontal bore is perforated in
a number of locations and artificial fracturing induced
by the high-pressure injection of water combined
with special additives and sand to keep the fracture
open - called a proppant - to keep the fracture open.