Abstract:

Due to its lower noxious emissions as compared to other fossil fuels, natural gas is quickly
becoming the fuel of choice for those who care about the environment. Major international oil
and gas firms are increasingly focusing their exploration activity on to locate gas in far-off places
and ever-deeper ocean depths. A gas field must be developed, generated, collected, processed,
and delivered to the customer when it has been found.

This report emphasized about definition of natural gas and its properties. It also lighten on the
countries which are the main producers in the industry of natural gas by suppling it all over the
world. The history of natural gas is also discussed briefly and how to extract it from earth or
produce via refining process. Accumulation of natural gas plays a vital role in the production
which denotes the process after production that how to store it safely in a facility by complying
the local and federal laws.

In essence, hydrocarbon buildup happens when the balance between migratory force and
resistance is reached. In this case, the accumulation efficiency increases with distance from the
source rock. Reservoirs have historically been formed throughout time. Furthermore,
unconformity belts, faulted anticline belts, zones in sedimentary rock and zones around source
rocks are also good places to look for significant gas fields.

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Introduction:
A blend of hydrocarbon-rich gases makes up natural gas. Methane, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and
other gases are all naturally occurring in the environment. Over millions of years, natural gas is
formed spontaneously from decaying plant and animal debris that is deposited in sedimentary
rock strata. Once produced, the gas has a tendency to move via the pores, fissures, and fractures
in the silt and rocks. Deep inside the earth, amid other beds of solid and liquid hydrocarbons like
coal and crude oil, lie natural gas reserves. Natural gas mostly consists of methane, or CH4.
When it is discovered in nature, raw natural gas may also include small amounts of nitrogen,
carbon dioxide, and water vapor in addition to a combination of butane, propane, and pentane
gases. Natural gas is purified during processing so that it can be sold as methane with a little
amount of ethane.

Use of natural gas:

Natural gas is used worldwide for various purposes. It is mostly utilized as a fuel and a feedstock
in production such as:

1. In cooking stoves, water heaters, and furnaces found in homes.

2. An industrial fuel in glass-making, brick, cement, and ceramic tile kilns
3. For the production of steam in water boilers
4. A clean heat source for processing food and sterilizing equipment
5. As raw material in the production of petrochemicals to create hydrogen, Sulphur, carbon
black, and ammonia. The ammonia is used as a primary feedstock for producing nitric
acid and urea as well as a variety of fertilizers.
6. Production of ethylene.

Figure 1: %age usage of natural gas

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 (Source: https://geology.com/articles/natural-gas-uses/)

Benefits of natural gas on other fuels:

Following are the benefits of the use of natural gas over other fuels:

Abundant:
The fact that natural gas is a plentiful resource is one of the factors contributing to its increased
demand. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), there are approximately 230
years' worth of exploitable natural gas resources. Natural gas resources are widespread, making
extraction and supply simpler. As long as the necessary infrastructure is in place, this could help
to keep prices low.

Figure 2: Global gas reserves

(Source: http://pacwestcp.com/education/shaleunconventional-resources/)

Emission of Greenhouse gases:

As compared to other fossil fuels, natural gas is regarded as a clean, environmentally friendly
fuel that provides significant environmental benefits. The fact that Sulphur dioxide emissions are
almost nonexistent or that carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions are at lower levels make
crude oil and coal more environmentally friendly than both. As a result, issues with acid rain, the
ozone layer, or greenhouse emissions are lessened. When it comes to consumption, storage, and
transportation, natural gas is a very safe energy source.

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Versatility:
Natural gas' adaptability is another perk. It can power electricity grids, heating systems,
household cooking appliances, some cars, and other things as a gas or as LNG. Natural gas'
adaptability is what makes it more popular and in demand. This is particularly true for
developing nations, where natural gas is a major component of growing economies everywhere.

Cost effective:
Natural gas production is much less expensive than other fossil fuels such as oil or coal. It is
used for power generation because it costs less.

Development of natural gas:

Natural gas was first discovered in the Middle East in antiquity. It was discovered thousands of
years ago that lightning-ignited natural gas seeps produced blazing springs. For their sacred
rituals, humans erected temples around these enduring flames in Persia, Greece, or India.
Chinese drilled the first documented natural gas well in 211 BC, but it wasn't until around 900
BC that the energy worth of natural gas was understood there. Natural gas wasn't known in
Europe until it was found in Great Britain in 1659, though it wasn't put on the market until
around 1790. Residents of Fredonia, New York, in 1821 noticed gas bubbles coming up from a
brook.

Historically, exploring for crude oil led to the discovery of natural gas. Since natural gas
reservoirs had to be tapped throughout the drilling operation and employees had to halt
operations so that the gas could escape freely into the atmosphere, natural gas was frequently an
unwanted byproduct.

Natural gas is now a significant energy source in the world, especially in the wake of the 1970s's
crude oil shortages. Natural gas was almost solely used as a source of illumination throughout
the 19th century, and because there were few transportation facilities, it was challenging to move
significant amounts of natural gas across long distances. The development of leak-proof pipeline
couplings marked a significant advancement in the industry in 1890, but it took until the 1920s
for long-distance natural gas transportation to become economically feasible. However, it wasn't
until after World War II that pipeline infrastructure and storage systems were developed, which
led to a significant increase in the utilization of natural gas.

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Countries producing natural gas:
Russian natural gas reserves are the largest in the world, and the nation will likely export 238
billion cubic meters of gas in 2020, more than any other nation. In Russia, using natural gas for
vehicles is highly encouraged. Companies sell aftermarket kits, and some automobiles are built
to run on natural gas. By the end of 2020, it was anticipated that Gazprom, the state-controlled
natural gas business, would have 500 filling stations.

The second-largest reserves of natural gas are found in Iran. With an estimated 145 hydrocarbon
fields, 297 gas and oil reservoirs, and the possibility for more, Iran is one of the world's most
hydrocarbon-rich regions. Iran is one of the few nations that can offer substantially larger
volumes of fossil fuels in the future because it is now only using a small percentage of its gas
reserves.

Just over 13% of the world's natural gas reserves are located in Qatar. The offshore North Field
is where the majority of the nation's reserves are found. Qatar started drilling extension in North
Field and intends to increase output by 60% in an effort to increase its natural gas export and
restore its position as the top exporter of liquefied natural gas in the world.

Natural gas deposits abound in the United States, with the biggest concentrations in Texas,
Oklahoma, and Louisiana. According to estimates, there is enough natural gas in the United
States to last at least another 60 years, if not longer. The United States imports natural gas
through pipelines from Canada and Mexico in addition to its own natural gas output.

The majority of Saudi Arabia's natural gas reserves, which are the fifth-largest in the world, are
found in the Persian Gulf. Saudi Arabia, the nation that exports the most crude oil worldwide,
intends to begin selling natural gas as well. Although the kingdom now relies mostly on oil to
generate electricity, it plans to move to producing 70% of its energy from natural gas and 30%
from renewable sources.

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 Figure 3: Countries natural gas reserves

(Source: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/natural-gas-by-country)

Materials and Methods:

Natural gas is accumulated through various methods. Conventional method involves extraction
from earth from reservoirs that are in the form of sedimentary rocks from which natural gas is
extracted and transported to different consumers. Other methods involve unconventional
methods that is produced by various other chemical processes:

Conventional gas reservoirs:

Gas reservoirs come in a wide variety, with various physical variables affecting the performance
and recovery of the reservoir. By lowering the pressure sufficiently, it should be able to recover
almost all of the in-place gas in a natural gas (mono) reservoir. However, part of the gas will be
lost to generation by being captured by capillary forces behind the approaching water front if the
pressure is sufficiently maintained by the encroaching water in the solid rock formation. As a
result, only around 80% of the existing gas can actually be recovered in practice. On the other
side, there is a financial limit where the expense of compaction exceeds the worth of the returned
gas as the pressure decreases. Actual gas recovery can reach up to 75 to 80 percent of the initial
in-place gas in the reservoir, depending on the permeability of the formation. Together with the
oil, associated gas is generated and separated from it at the surface.

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 Figure 4: Geology of natural gas reserves

(Source: https://www.igu.org/facts-figures/#top-page)

Unconventional gas reservoirs:

Significant quantities of gas have built up in geologic settings that are different from typical
petroleum traps. Unconventional gas is the name given to this type of gas, which is found in coal
seams, joints, and fractures in shales, as well as in "tight" (i.e., relatively impermeable)
sandstones. Moreover, significant volumes of gas are trapped in methane hydrates in polar and
oceanic environments that are cold, and gas is also dispersed or entrained in formation waters
that are heated under geo-pressure.

The sole thing that makes unconventional gas sources unconventional is the fact that they can
produce at significantly lower rates than conventional gas fields and can be more expensive to
utilize given the present technological and economic climates. Unconventional gas production is
able to fully complement regular gas production, however some of it is becoming easier and
more affordable as technology advances or as conventional energy sources increase in price.
Tight gas, shale gas, and coal-bed methane have all demonstrated this.

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 Figure 5: Unconventional method of natural gas reserves

(Source: https://www.igu.org/facts-figures/#top-page)

Methane hydrates:
The so-called methane hydrates, which are strange molecular formations in which lone methane
molecules are enclosed in frosty cage-like lattices of water molecules, are thought to contain
enormous amounts of natural gas. Methane hydrates are found in the ocean bed near the outer
borders of continental shelves and beneath the permafrost in Polar Regions. In both of these
habitats, highly particular arrangements of pressure and temperature result in circumstances that
permit the migration of methane into water-filled reservoirs and the formation of the hydrate
structures between the two species.

Sandstones from northern latitudes and mud and sand deposits from continental edges have both
been reported to contain methane hydrates. Exploration is now being done on methods for
economically and environmentally sustainable methane extraction. One option is to drill into a
formation rich in hydrates and sufficiently lower the pressure in the rock layers to allow the
methane to escape from the water lattice. Carbon dioxide can also be injected into the formation.
The methane would be released for collection through a borehole when the carbon dioxide
molecules took the place of the methane particles in the lattice structure. The highly fragile arctic
and marine habitats where the reserves are found would require any extraction technology to be
carefully tailored around them.

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Tight gas:
Sandstones with less than one millidarcy of effective permeability, such as blanket or lenticular
sandstones, contain tight gas (or 0.001 darcy, which is the standard unit of permeability of a
substance to fluid flow). Due to their low natural flow rates, these highly impermeable
sandstones serve as reservoirs for sizable volumes of gas that are generally uneconomical to
generate via conventional vertical wells. However, the introduction of horizontal drilling and
hydraulic fracturing or fracking, techniques, which create sizable collection zones in low-
permeability strata where gas can flow to a producing well, has significantly increased the
production of gas from tight sandstones.

Shale gas:
Organic mud that had been accumulated at the bottom of long-gone bodies of water was used to
create shale gas. The mud was turned into shale by subsequent sedimentation, as well as the
production of natural gas out from organic material it contained, as a result of the heat and
pressure that followed. Some of the gas moved to nearby sandstones during protracted geologic
periods and was trapped there, generating typical gas accumulations. The solid surfaces shale
continued to contain the remaining gas. In the past, shale gas production was typically too
sluggish to be lucrative, but now that wells can be dug horizontally through extensive shale beds
and the deposits can be stimulated using hydraulic fracturing, gas output can be significantly
increased.

Coal bed methane:

Coal seams contain substantial amounts of methane that are trapped. Large amounts of gas are
also adsorbed on the interior surfaces of the coal's micro-pores. Although much of the gas that
produced during the first coalification process is lost to the atmosphere, a sizable fraction is left
as free gas in the joints and cracks of the coal seam. Drilling wells into the coal seam and then
pumping out a lot of water to wet it down will allow you to access the gas there. The adsorbed
methane can migrate as free gas into coal fissures and then enter the wellbore to be taken to the
surface because the removal of the water decreases the stress in the seam, allowing it to do so.

The existing fracture networks of coal seams that contain abundant methane reserves can
occasionally be induced by fracking in a similar way to shale formations and tight sandstones
since coal is highly impermeable. Almost 10% of the nation's total gas production comes from

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coal-bed gas, which is also increasingly significant as a supplier of natural gas in other parts of
the world.

Discussion:

Conclusion:

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https://energytracker.asia/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-natural-gas/

https://www.igu.org/facts-figures/#top-page

https://www.worldometers.info/gas/gas-production-by-country/

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/natural-gas-by-country

For conclusion

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468256X17300421#:~:text=(1)-,The
%20natural%20gas%20accumulation%20and%20distribution%20are%20characterized%20by
%20cycle,reservoir%20in%20a%20certain%20play

methods

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/natural-gas/

https://www.britannica.com/science/natural-gas/Origin-of-natural-gas

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