How is
Natural Gas Sold?
Natural gas
marketing has undergone many changes since the days when
natural gas was a highly regulated by-product of crude oil production.
Natural gas is used in a number of markets as
illustrated in the pie chart on the right. Industrial uses of
natural gas represented the largest market with fuel and raw material applications.
Natural gas is used to dry potato chips and automobile paint finishes.
Natural gas is converted into fertilizer, methanol, and gasoline
blending compounds. Please see the a graph of the latest
Natural Gas Consumption.
Natural
gas is used in the residential and commercial sector for home heating and
cooking. Natural gas used to produce electricity is growing
rapidly.
Natural gas is moved to market through a network of
gathering systems and pipelines. Natural gas from producing wells is collected in a field
gathering system. The gas is processed in a natural gas processing plant where the heavier
hydrocarbon liquids are removed and the gas is compressed.
[Click on
image to view full-size]
The natural gas is sent to
interstate transmission pipelines that transport the gas to consumers. Gas compressors
along the line maintain the system pressure and keep the gas flowing.
Natural gas marketing has changed considerably over the past decade.
In the past, the natural gas transmission companies purchased the gas from producers,
transported the gas, and sold it to local distribution
companies or large users. The local distribution companies (LDCs) sold the gas to
end-users in residential, commercial, industrial, and utility power markets. The new
deregulated natural gas market allows producers to sell directly to end-users.
[Click on
image to view full-size]
Source:
J. Richard Moore
Today's
market has also fostered the development of natural gas marketers who can either collect
suppliers and find markets for the production (supply aggregators) or collect customers and find
supplies to meet their demand (market aggregators).
To learn more about natural gas
marketing, check out the
following references:
 |
NaturalGas.org -
an educational website covering a variety of topics related to the
natural gas industry. The purpose of this website is to provide visitors
with a comprehensive information source for topics related to natural
gas, and present an unbiased learning tool for students, teachers,
industry, media, and government. This site has been developed and is
maintained by the
Natural
Gas Supply Association.
|
|
|
American Gas Association
|
|
