...The demand for natural gas has increased in the past decade and that has lead to exploration into unexplored areas of the United States. These explorations lead to the Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virginia. The Fernow is well known for long-term Silviculture, watershed, and ecological research (Kochenderfer 2006). As the preparation drilling a total of over 700 hundred trees were removed. During hydraulic fracturing which is a process in which fractures in rocks below the earth's surface are opened and widened by injecting chemicals and liquids at high pressure to extract natural gas ("hydraulic fracturing," 2012). During this process many of the trees and shrubs showed signs of being affected by the process. The trees started to brown early, they stared weltering and fell to the ground earlier then they should have. One would think that due to drilling and the release of natural gases that you wouldn’t find signs of wildlife. That’s not the case with the white tail deer. The white tail deer require the intake of salt and other minirals especially during the summer and spring months. The water coming from the gas site had a high concentration of minerals that the deer liked. That’s the one unqie thing about deer is they are an adaptive species. The black bear population did see a slight decrease in activity around the drill site. According to the CIA world fact book the U.S. has the highest demand for natural gas with 683,300,000,000 cubic meters of gas in 2010, with...
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...Natural Gas Name Course Instructor’s Name Date Submitted Natural gas is classified as a fossils fuel and is abundant in most parts of the world. It is referred to as ‘natural gas’ because it occurs naturally as a hydrocarbon that is an element from carbon and hydrogen atoms. It consists mainly of methane and is colorless. It is known to be the simplest type of hydrocarbon (Originenergy.com.au, 2015). Natural gas is a very efficient energy source apart from being environmental friendly. It is known to be the cleanest-burning conventional fuel because it emits smaller amounts of greenhouse gases as compared to the heavier hydrocarbon fuels like coal. The primary compositions of natural gas are methane (CH4), ethane and propane. Natural gas is mainly used to fuel electric power generators, the raw material for making consumer products from plastics and heats buildings. This paper explores the advantages and problems associated with extraction, processing, transportation and use of natural gas. Advantages of natural gas Natural gas is available worldwide in abundance. In the US only, there are over a trillion barrels of gas reserves that are yet to be harvested. Just like other sources of fuel like coal and oil, natural gas is a viable power source that has to be conserved. It is estimated in the coming years more sites with natural gas will be discovered. The US department of energy predicts there will be a rise...
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...Natural gas is the energy of the future. It provides cleaner energy, at a more efficient rate. The northeast corner of our nation is always in need of energy. Pipeline projects are claimed to be harmful to the environment, yet studies have shown no value in property is lost due to pipelines. This nation needs to add funding and focus towards natural gas production and sale due to the many positive benefits shown. Countries like Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan are all major users of Natural Gas. They import an amazing amount of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) every year. They account for one third of the world's natural gas importation. The dense populations and lack of resources causes them to need to pull in millions of barrels of LNG. Their usage of natural gas has far surpassed the use of coal and oil in their country. Japan spent $63.28 Billion dollars on it last year. These asian countries have seen the benefits in this cheap, and clean energy. (NaturalGas.org) Japan is nearly balanced with energy now, where it once was a complete disaster....
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...and $3.67 in 2013. Currency issues also have an effect on natural gas prices in the US. For example, should the value of the US dollar weaken against the Canadian dollar, the costs of Canadian natural gas could rise, which would put upward pressure on prices. This could increase the attractiveness of regions where production is more expensive, thus allowing additional supplies to enter the market and potentially limiting how high prices could go. Higher consumption seen in 2012 and in 2013 In its Short-Term Energy Outlook published June 12, 2012, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected that total natural gas consumption would increase by 4.3% in 2012 and 2.4% in 2013. Despite the warmer-than-usual winter and the slowdown in withdrawals, the EIA believes that the increase in electric power consumption of natural gas will dwarf the declines that it expects in the residential and commercial sectors. As a result, these people ask whether limited natural gas resources should be squandered on generating electricity when other inexpensive methods of generating power exist The EIA projected, in its Annual Energy Outlook 2012 Early Release, that total dry natural gas production would rise 3.0% in 2012, then fall 3.0% in 2013 before starting a relatively steady trend upward. The 3.0% drop in dry gas production in 2013 is unlikely, in our opinion, as oil and gas shale-drilling efforts continue However, gas production from oil shale wells is picking up in a big way....
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...1. Natural gas should be the product that BP should invest in. It is no longer a new source of energy as its publicity has been increasing as a possible best alternative to oil which still is by far a dominating resource. Now, there is no doubt that the amount of oil available is decreasing and in fact using oil as heavily as it has been used is not welcomed, especially by individuals or groups who advocate countless number of anti-CO2 emission campaign. Natural gas also emits CO2 just like oil because they are just the same in that both are fossil fuels, although the emission of CO2 by natural gas is said to be almost a half. Plus, if this is to be used for generating electricity, it is capable of generating the same or even higher amount of electricity. It is said to be cheaper to access to. According to the article, it is around 75% cheaper than oil at the moment. (probably a citation as evidence is more persuasive) and it’d be best to include the exact price of the current oil supply. Many alternatives have been invented and tried out, but none of them still has proven enough to meet the demand for energy. Taking the balance between the ability to generate electricity and the emission of greenhouse effect gas, natural gas is ahead of the others. I personally think that the points you’ve written above should be included in my part in section A – product/ services. That’s because I’ll be explaining why we would wanna replace nuclear power by natural gas. (Nclear...
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...Convert to Natural Gas Currently in America there are two main items that are always on the minds of the people. The first of which is the state of the economy, and how long will it take to get out of this recession. The second is finding an alternate source of energy besides oil. This can be seen in the rate at which hybrid cars are popping up on the market. Natural gas, which is abundant in America, may very well be the answer to both. The law of demand states that as the price of the good increases the quantity demanded of the good decreases. The law of supply states that as the price of the good increases, the quantity supplied of the good increases. Energy however is one of the exceptions to both of these rules. Oil and fossil fuels have a relatively high demand worldwide yet the prices are still at all-time highs. Natural gas on the other hand is at a low is cost with a high supply. While the amount of oil produced has had a slight increase recently, thanks to new technologies, it has only been enough to keep up with the rise in demand. The fact that the oil market is a global one, along with the political control over most of the world’s oil pockets continues to have the price of oil at a fairly high price. Unfortunately it will most likely stay this way. A gain made in improving the supply production of oil takes years of research. Just like oil, natural gas shows itself to be an exception to the laws of supply and demand. Unlike oil, natural gas is a...
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...Natural Gas Paper Natural Gas Natural gas is a flammable gas that consists of methane and other hydrocarbons. This gas is found underground and is also used as fuel. Natural gas is produced when trapped gas is released above ground. That release creates unusual spouts of heat and fire. Scientists realized that under the ground lay an energy producing gas waiting to be extracted. Today when a company is looking for natural gas, they seek out a particular type of rock formation above ground. Tests are run that can measure sound waves and gravitational pulls in a particular area. If the tests appear promising, the drilling begins. Drilling only returns natural gas half of the time. In order to tap into the underground reserve, the drilling team must dig about 6000 feet into the ground. Once the gas is extracted from the ground it is sent to power plants and processing plants. It is then cleaned, separated and converted into fuel that is usable for homes and businesses. There are times that the gas is compressed, then transported to various rural areas where pipeline aren’t available. It is then placed in small metal tanks. The USA produces about a quarter of the earth’s natural gas. The five best sources for fossil fuel are Louisiana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Natural gas can be found in several other places within the Northern Hemisphere. Qatar is the world’s largest natural gas field. The Persian Gulf is the second largest. Natural gas impacts the quality...
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...I was neutral on the subject of natural gas fracking, I had never heard of it and had no idea how destructive this process of extraction was. The further I got on this report, the more furious I became that this was happening on US soil, and not only that but people in the highest levels of government were not only sanctioning it, but using their power in public office to advance the agenda of companies that they were either running before they cae into office, or companies that friends were running, or were just giving them kickbacks, which would be the only reason that anyone would let this go on. After doing just a small amount of research you realize rather quickly how detrimental this process is, not only to the environment, but to the helpless animals who had had wells built in their migration patterns. Not to mention the helpless children whos parents had no idea what the were getting themselves and their families into when they signed what appeared to be a harmless contract allowing a drilling company to put up a small rig on their property. Who didn’t realize that in a short amount of time they would be able to light the water coming out of their faucet on fire, that their animals would loose their hair, have problems eating and die. The fact that any human being would allow this to be done to other human beings all in the name of money is beyond me, but I’ll get into that later. What is hydraulic fracturing anyway? The U.S. contains gas fields that rival the oil fields...
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...Liquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4) that has been converted to liquid form for ease of storage or transport. Liquefied natural gas takes up about 1/600th the volume of natural gas in the gaseous state. It is odorless, colorless, non-toxic and non-corrosive. Hazards include flammability after vaporization into a gaseous state, freezing and asphyxia. A typical LNG process. The gas is first extracted and transported to a processing plant where it is purified by removing any condensates such as water, oil, mud, as well as other gases such as CO2 and H2S. An LNG process train will also typically be designed to remove trace amounts of mercury from the gas stream to prevent mercury amalgamizing with aluminium in the cryogenic heat exchangers. The gas is then cooled down in stages until it is liquefied. LNG is finally stored in storage tanks and can be loaded and shipped. The liquefaction process involves removal of certain components, such as dust, acid gases, helium, water, and heavy hydrocarbons, which could cause difficulty downstream. The natural gas is then condensed into a liquid at close to atmospheric pressure (maximum transport pressure set at around 25 kPa (3.6 psi)) by cooling it to approximately −162 °C (−260 °F). LNG achieves a higher reduction in volume than compressed natural gas (CNG) so that the energy density of LNG is 2.4 times greater than that of CNG or 60% of that of diesel fuel.[1] This makes LNG cost efficient to...
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...KEY ISSUES IN PAKISTAN INDUSTRY Key Issues in Industry in Pakistan The previous two chapters have given a chronological account of developments in the industrial sector in Pakistan, showing how perspectives of different regimes have influenced industrial and economic growth. This chapter looks at contemporary issues in the industrial sector, including privatization, the textile sector and a host of others. Many of the issues in the industrial sector today have their roots in policies adopted many years ago; so much so, that some analysts and experts blame the problems of today on key decisions of yesteryear. 8.1 Numbers and Trends in Industry The phenomenal growth rate experienced in the industrial sector in Pakistan in the early 1950s took place, from an almost non-existent base, where the growth rate of the industrial sector was doubling itself every few years. The extraordinary growth rates of over 20 per cent between 1950 and 1955 in large-scale manufacturing were achieved primarily because very little existed to start with and, hence, any investment and production, no matter how little, would register impressive gains. Only in the early 1960s did largescale manufacturing come close to the extraordinary period of the early and mid-1950s. Nevertheless, overall manufacturing did manage to produce a growth rate of close to 10 per cent on average throughout the 1960s (Table 8.1), followed by a substantial reduction in the 1970s, the reasons for which ...
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...Natural Gas Consumption Patterns Natural gas, one of the cleanest, safest, and most useful of all energy sources, is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases that occurs with petroleum deposits that is used as a fuel and in the manufacture of organic compounds. Between 1997 and 2011, total natural gas consumption in the United States rose 7%. This is modest growth in and of itself but it masks bigger changes in individual sectors. Electric power was the second lowest user of natural gas in 1997 but is now the largest user. This sector also shows the greatest sensitivity to price change than any other sector. As of 2009, natural gas consumption for power surpassed the consumption in the industrial sector. With coal prices rising and natural gas prices declining, dispatching natural gas generators in some parts of the country has become increasingly competitive with operating coal generators. The competition between natural gas and coal fired generators first appeared in the Southeast where it was more expensive to use coal-fired generators due to the higher cost of transporting the coal over long distances. The industrial sector uses natural gas for processing heat, steam generation, onsite electricity generation, space heating and petrochemical processing. In 1997, the industrial sector was the largest user of natural gas. This sector’s use has steadily declined from 1997 until 2010 where there was an upturn in...
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...UNDERSTANDING NATURAL GAS MARKETS Table of Contents PREVIEW Overview ...................................................................... 2 The North American Natural Gas Marketplace ............... 4 Natural Gas Supply ....................................................... 8 Natural Gas Demand ................................................... 12 Natural Gas Exports .................................................... 15 How Natural Gas is Traded .......................................... 16 Conclusion: A New Era For U.S. Natural Gas Markets ... 20 Glossary ..................................................................... 20 References ................................................................. 23 Understanding Natural Gas Markets Overview Natural Gas is an Important Source of Energy for the United States. Natural gas is an attractive fuel because it is clean burning and efficient, and ample supplies of natural gas are available from domestic resources. Recently, natural gas production in the U.S. has increased substantially due to technological advancements in natural gas extraction methods. This increased production has displaced traditional supply sources and resulted in reduced prices for natural gas consumers. The prospect of ample natural gas supplies, continued low prices, and the favorable environmental and economic position of natural gas-fired electric generation plants are leading to expectations of growing U.S. demand for natural gas, especially...
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...American’s Natural Gas Highway Costumers are facing serious problems if they want to “go green” and economical. For example, there are a few opportunities on the market to choose from economical and environment-friendly cars, but there are not many places to refuel them, which make people change their desires, go buying the ecofriendly cars. There is no benefit of having a car if you cannot drive it everywhere. This makes the manufacturers to suffer, and being stuck with inventory and no opportunity to sell or extend their productions. In order to solve the problem, Clean Energy Fuels Corp. and Navistar International partnered up with the plan to create America’s Natural Gas Highway. This would be the first network of natural gas fueling stations across the United States. The first steps to accomplished this goal is to coordinate relationships between a truck maker, fuel supplier, a truck stop chain, and natural gas driller. Clean Energy Fuels Corp. and Navistar International shared the plan with the Pilot Flying J Travel Centers, which is the largest network of truck and travel shops. The company will provide the service locations where the trucks could be refueled. America’s Natural Gas Highway also includes Chesapeake, the gas drilling company that would provide fuel to Clean Energy. Navistar will sell the best in-class natural gas (LNG) truck fleets to the consumer that are in contract with the Clean Energy; providing the fuel. Pilot Flying J Travel Centers will provide...
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...Natural Gas Case Study University of Phoenix Natural Gas Case Study The convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (hereafter CISG) was an agreement to reduce the hassle of international trade and provide a universal way to handle disputes. The benefit of international trade was unmistakable to companies across the globe; however, the complications associated with the different laws and regulations of each sovereign nation often discouraged companies from partaking in this fruitful venture. Thus, the CISG helped companies minimize the risks of international trade, by providing a uniformed code that could be applied to all international transactions. In the natural gas case, the plaintiff a German company agreed to purchase propane from the defendant, an Austrian partnership. The fact the contract was never fulfilled properly led to the German company bring forth a breach of contract lawsuit, the courts applied the CISG to determine their findings. The natural gas case, as previously stated, was between a German buyer and an Austrian seller. The buyer or plaintiff agreed to purchase propane from the seller. The seller was to have the propane shipped from its supplier in the United States to Belgium where the buyer would receive it. Due to the fact that the two parties had never done business before, the seller required the buyer to secure a letter of credit for the transaction. However, the buyer’s bank required details about the transactions, specifically...
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...Natural Gas in the United States Katrina C National University February 4, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………….3 History and Regulations…………………………………………………………………………...4 Formation and Resources…………………………………………………………………………5 Uses of Natural Gas……………………………………………………………………………….7 Extraction Techniques…………………………………………………………………………….8 Hydraulic Fracturing………………………………………………………………………………9 Gasland………………………………………………………………………………………..…10 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….11 Natural Gas SWOT Analysis…………………………………………………………………….12 References………………………………………………………………………………………..13 Natural Gas in the United States Introduction The natural gas market is a topic that I had never given much thought. Prior to selecting this research paper topic the only knowledge that I had of natural gas is that it is an affordable energy source that was used by many families. Growing up in rural Louisiana my parents had a natural gas oven and heaters. My brother actually still uses the natural gas in my parents old home. My parents’ home now is totally electric and my mother complains about the utility bill and the slow cooking speed with electric. Those complaints seem so minute after learning about the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. When first giving the list of research paper topics, the worldwide natural gas market and fracking were not on my list of topic options. However, due to my procrastination on choosing one of my first...
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