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This report responds to an August 2011 request from the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy (DOE/FE) for an analysis of “the impact of increased domestic natural gas demand, as exports.” Appendix A provides a copy of the DOE/FE request letter. Specifically, DOE/FE asked the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to assess how specified scenarios of increased natural gas exports could affect domestic energy markets, focusing on consumption, production, and prices.…
View Full ResourceWhat we normally think of as “natural gas” consists mainly of methane with smaller amounts of other compounds and elements. Methane is the simplest of a large family of carbon and hydrogen compounds, called hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons also include, among other things, propane used in gas grills, butane used in disposable lighters, and crude oil. Methane is highly flammable. It is also odorless and tasteless. Some natural gases have strong odors – they smell like a refinery or rotten eggs because they contain more than just methane. The strong odor typically associated with the natural gas we use in our houses… View Full Resource
Nitrogen is very difficult to remove from natural gas. Most specifications require no more than 4% nitrogen or total inerts in the interstate pipeline system. With about 15% of the raw natural gas produced in the United States having nitrogen contents over 4%, technology is needed to economically bring the gas to pipeline quality. Cryogenic distillation, the current state-of-the-art technology, is expensive, especially in smaller applications. Lean oil systems, such as AET’s Mehra Process, and pressure swing adsorption processes, such as Nitrotech’s carbon molecular sieve and Engelhard’s Molecular Gate, are being applied in very limited cases. Membranes are in the… View Full Resource
Sufficient midstream natural gas infrastructure, such as gathering systems, processing plants, transmission pipelines, storage fields, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, is crucial for efficient delivery and well‐functioning markets. Insufficient infrastructure, on the other hand, can contribute to price volatility, a shrinking market, and even stranded gas supplies and reduced economic activity. Since the last INGAA Foundation natural gas infrastructure study completed in 2009, rapid development of unconventional natural gas supplies, particularly shale gas supplies, has expanded and is offsetting declining production of conventional and offshore natural gas. While gas demand in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors largely has …
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In New York and Pennsylvania, the public debate about the prospect or continuation of high volume hydraulic fracturing for shale gas has revolved around its environmental impacts, particularly its effects on water quality, while taking as a given that exploitation of this new natural gas asset will produce significant economic benefits for the states’ economies. If we want to understand how this new kind of natural gas drilling will affect communities in Pennsylvania and New York, the economic impact models that have been used to project potential benefits and job creation give us only a fraction of the information we …
View Full ResourceThis paper provides an updated, comparative fuel chain calculation of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of natural gas- and coal-fired electricity. The analysis incorporates revised 2011 US EPA estimates of fugitive methane emissions from the upstream (i.e., production) portion of the fuel chain. Based on this revised EPA data and average generation heat rates, we find that existing gas-fired generation is still, on average, about 51% less GHG intensive than existing coal-fired generation. Similarly, a new gas-fired combined-cycle unit produces about 52% less GHG emissions per kWh than a new coal- fired steam unit; about 58% less than the average …
View Full ResourceIn the last decade, hydraulic fracturing and other new drilling technologies have turned North texas into the leading shale gas-producing area in the country. But the drilling boom has brought with it serious concerns over the health and environmental impacts of an industry that uses large volumes of toxic chemicals in close proximity to texas communities. the search for deposits of shale gas is spreading to other regions of texas, raising the question of whether the state is adequately protecting its citizens and its resources.…
View Full ResourceThe increased use of renewable electric power generation, particularly wind, will require electric power systems to provide back-up power to firm the generation from these intermittent sources of electricity. Natural gas-fired generation is a logical, low-cost choice for providing this back-up firming capability. This study evaluates the implications of the increased use of natural gas-fired generation for firming renewable resources for natural gas transportation infrastructure planning and pricing. Firming capacity in this study is the amount of non-wind generating capacity needed to meet shortfalls in actual wind output with respect to forecast wind output, that is, to compensate for the …
View Full ResourceWe evaluate the greenhouse gas footprint of natural gas obtained by high- volume hydraulic fracturing from shale formations, focusing on methane emissions. Natural gas is composed largely of methane, and 3.6% to 7.9% of the methane from shale-gas production escapes to the atmosphere in venting and leaks over the life- time of a well. These methane emissions are at least 30% more than and perhaps more than twice as great as those from conventional gas. The higher emissions from shale gas occur at the time wells are hydraulically fractured—as methane escapes from flow-back return fluids—and during drill out following the …
View Full ResourceThis white paper presents a compelling vision of how natural gas can provide the key to a smart energy future through its efficient, safe, and reliable delivery and use as an abundant, domestic, affordable, low- carbon energy source for all segments of the economy. It also anticipates integrating the natural gas infrastructure with an increasingly “smart” electricity grid and supporting increased levels of renewable energy.…
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