When was natural gas discovered

Natural gas deposits are found on land, and some are offshore and deep under the ocean floor. A type of natural gas found in coal deposits is called coalbed methane. Click to enlarge. The search for natural gas begins with geologists who study the structure and processes of the earth. They locate the types of geologic formations that are likely to contain natural gas deposits.

Geologists often use seismic surveys on land and in the ocean to find the right places to drill natural gas and oil wells. Seismic surveys create and measure seismic waves in the earth to get information on the geology of rock formations.

Seismic surveys on land may use a thumper truck , which has a vibrating pad that pounds the ground to create seismic waves in the underlying rock. Sometimes small amounts of explosives are used.

Seismic surveys conducted in the ocean use blasts of sound that create sonic waves to explore the geology beneath the ocean floor. If the results of seismic surveys indicate that a site has potential for producing natural gas, an exploratory well is drilled and tested. The results of the test provide information on the quality and quantity of natural gas available in the resource.

If the results from a test well show that a geologic formation has enough natural gas to produce and make a profit, one or more production or development wells are drilled. Natural gas wells can be drilled vertically and horizontally into natural gas-bearing formations. In conventional natural gas deposits, the natural gas generally flows easily up through wells to the surface. In the United States and in a few other countries, natural gas is produced from shale and other types of sedimentary rock formations by forcing water, chemicals, and sand down a well under high pressure.

This process, called hydraulic fracturing or fracking , and sometimes referred to as unconventional production, breaks up the formation, releases the natural gas from the rock, and allows the natural gas to flow to and up wells to the surface. At the top of the well on the surface, natural gas is put into gathering pipelines and sent to natural gas processing plants. Because natural gas is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, natural gas companies add mercaptan to natural gas to give it a distinct and unpleasant odor to help detect leaks in natural gas pipelines.

Mercaptan is a harmless chemical that smells like rotten eggs. Natural gas withdrawn from natural gas or crude oil wells is called wet natural gas because, along with methane, it usually contains NGL—ethane, propane, butanes, and pentanes—and water vapor.

Wellhead natural gas may also contain nonhydrocarbons such as sulfur, helium, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon dioxide, most of which must be removed from natural gas before it is sold to consumers. After World War II, new welding techniques, along with advances in pipe rolling and metallurgy, further improved pipeline reliability. Once the transportation of natural gas was possible, new uses for natural gas were discovered.

These included using natural gas to heat homes and operate appliances such as water heaters, ovens, and cooktops. Industry began to use natural gas in manufacturing and processing plants. Also, natural gas was used to heat boilers used to generate electricity.

The expanded transportation infrastructure had made natural gas easy to obtain, and it was becoming an increasingly popular energy choice. Find additional detail on modern methods of natural gas exploration, extraction, and transportation as well as more information on the many uses of natural gas today. In , the U. Because of the fear of possible abuses, such as charging unreasonably high prices, and given the rising importance of natural gas nationwide, the Natural Gas Act was passed.

This Act imposed regulations and restrictions on the price of natural gas to protect consumers. Find more information on this Act, and legislation and regulation that affect the natural gas industry. In the s and s, a number of gas shortages and price irregularities indicated that a regulated market was not best for consumers or the natural gas industry. Into the s and early s, the industry gradually moved toward less regulation, allowing for healthy competition and market-based prices.

These moves led to a strengthening of the natural gas market, lowering prices for consumers and allowing for more natural gas to be discovered.

Although not as active as the s, the beginning of the 21st Century has brought with it significant regulation concerning gas quality, standards of conduct for interstate pipelines, and price reporting. While FERC does not deal exclusively with natural gas issues, it is the primary rule making body with respect to the regulation of the natural gas industry. Competition characterizes the natural gas industry as it is known today.

Customer-Owned Lines Notification. Excess Flow Valve Notification. Gas Pipeline Integrity. Call Before You Dig. Gas Production. History of Natural Gas. Natural Gas Appliance Benefits. Energy Tips. Notify Me Find out what's happening. Online Bill Pay Easily pay your bills online. City Videos Enjoy your visit. Natural gas distribution companies have always been subject to regulation by state and local governments. In , however, with the growing importance of natural gas, concern over the heavy concentration of the natural gas industry, and the monopolistic tendencies of interstate pipelines to charge higher than competitive prices due to their market power, the U.

The Act was intended to protect consumers from possible abuses such as unreasonably high prices. The Act gave the Federal Power Commission FPC jurisdiction to regulate the transportation and sale of natural gas in interstate commerce. The FPC was charged with regulating the rates that were charged for interstate natural gas delivery and with certifying new interstate pipeline construction if it was consistent with the public convenience and necessity.

The Act also transferred to the FERC from the Interstate Commerce Commission the authority to set oil pipeline transportation rates and to set the value of oil pipelines for ratemaking purposes. In the s, a movement toward deregulation of the natural gas industry began. It provided for the complete unbundling of transportation, storage, and sales; the customer the local gas distribution system now chooses its gas supplier and if it has options the pipeline s to transport its gas.

In the current federal regulatory environment, only interstate pipelines are directly regulated as to the transportation of gas in interstate commerce. Investor-owned local distribution companies LDCs are typically regulated by state public service commissions regarding the services they provide.

Natural gas producers and marketers are not directly regulated by the federal government as to rates and related matters. Interstate pipeline companies are regulated regarding the rates they charge, the access they offer to their pipeline facilities, and the siting and construction of new pipelines.