How is natural gases formed

Here, we'll cover a range of topics: the scale of global energy; the ways energy is sourced and produced; current energy technology; forthcoming innovations; the world's future energy needs; and the sustainable sources of energy that will fill them. Because energy matters to everyone, we hope you'll rely on Energy Matters as an ongoing source of balanced information. Natural Gas — What is it, where is it, and how do we capture it?

What is it? Where does it come from? Does Canada have enough natural gas for the future? Does the United States have enough natural gas for the future? Back to top. All Rights Reserved. Visit Enbridge. Because the light hydrocarbons that comprise natural gas are lighter than water and rock, those that exist within the earth will tend to migrate upwards until they reach the surface, or are trapped by an impermeable layer of rock.

Methane is also produced by bacteria methanogens that decompose organic matter under anoxic conditions, referred to as biogenic methane. These microorganisms are active in the intestines of most animals, and are responsible for methane release from decomposing landfill waste.

In the process of petroleum formation, methane may be formed in this manner during the early stages burial. A large supply of methane is also present within coal seams, where it is found adsorbed to the structure of the coal; where it was formed by methanogenic bacteria during the decomposition process and also during catagenesis of the forming coal. This methane is in a near liquid state lining the pores of the coal, and is partially released when pressure in the reservoir declines due to the presence of a withdrawal well.

In the search for fuels that are alternative to petroleum and plentiful, a lot of recent talk has centered on what are called methane hydrates also called methane clathrates or methane ice. Essentially, these are chunks of ice that are saturated with methane or natural gas during formation, the gas becomes trapped in the structure of the freezing water. Because of their frozen structure, they are to be found in arctic permafrost regions or at the bottom of the ocean in places where conditions are favorable.

As with natural gas, methane hydrates can be formed through biogenic or thermogenic processes:. In biogenic formation , the methane is produced by biological activity as microorganisms attempt to decompose the remains of marine life as above, primarily marine phytoplankton and zooplankton.

In this case, methane is produced by the anoxic behaviors of methanogenic bacteria. In thermogenic formation , the gas is formed in the same manner as natural gas…through catagenesis of kerogen. In fact, this may be the same natural gas that was formed above, it just migrates to a region remember, gas is lighter than earth materials and wants to reach the surface where the formation of hydrates is favorable.

Through either method of formation biogenic or thermogenic the gases, once formed, are thought to migrate perhaps through geologic faults and, upon contact with cold sea water, to crystallize into ice-like structures.

Historically, the U. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to locate further sources of natural gas, and methane hydrates could fill this need. The difficulty arising in the utilization of methane hydrates owes primarily to the development of an efficient extraction process. Beneath the sea floor, hydrates are stable at these pressures, the ice chunks will remain in their structures up to about 18 degrees Celsius , but once removed, the ice become unstable as pressures decrease and the gas develops a strong desire to escape.

Methods for efficient extraction are currently in development. In more than 3. Energy Use at a Glance: In , the U. 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. From the wellhead, natural gas is sent to processing plants where water vapor and nonhydrocarbon compounds are removed and NGL are separated from the wet gas and sold separately.

Some ethane is often left in the processed natural gas. The separated NGL are called natural gas plant liquids NGPL , and the processed natural gas is called dry , consumer-grade , or pipeline quality natural gas.

Some wellhead natural gas is sufficiently dry and satisfies pipeline transportation standards without processing. Chemicals called odorants are added to natural gas so that leaks in natural gas pipelines can be detected. Dry natural gas is sent through pipelines to underground storage fields or to distribution companies and then to consumers.

In places where natural gas pipelines are not available to take away associated natural gas produced from oil wells, the natural gas may be reinjected into the oil-bearing formation, or it may be vented or burned flared. Reinjecting unmarketable natural gas can help to maintain pressure in oil wells to improve oil production. Coalbed methane can be extracted from coal deposits before or during coal mining, and it can be added to natural gas pipelines without any special treatment.

Most of the natural gas consumed in the United States is produced in the United States. Some natural gas is imported from Canada and Mexico in pipelines. A small amount of natural gas is also imported as liquefied natural gas. Natural gas explained.

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