Natural Gas

1. Natural Gas

2. Energy Density • Generally produces around 49 megajoules per kilogram of natural gas; this is less than that of coal or oil Renewable/ Non-renewable • Non-renewable Intermittency • Non-intermittent

3. Reliability • In the past, natural gas was considered an unreliable fuel • Nowadays, with improvements in technology and a greater known number of reserves, this is no longer the case Storage • Almost all natural gas is stored and transported in large pipelines • Natural gas is usually stored under pressure, which reduces its volume • Pressure is then lowered in preparation for domestic use of natural gas

4. Resource • As a fossil fuel, natural gas is certainly running out • The reserve of natural gas that Britain relies upon- in the North Sea- is diminishing quickly, as it is a relatively small reserve Geographical and locational factors • There are large deposits of natural gas in the Middle East, in western USA and in mid-Siberia (Russia) • Natural gas fields are often found alongside oil reserves • Natural gas is generally found below the ground, and is extracted by drilling

5. Natural gas extraction by countries in cubic meters per year

6. Technology • To begin with, little technology was used in the extraction of natural gas • This has changed; technological developments now mean natural gas extraction is less wasteful and produces greater quantities Environment • Natural gas produces significantly lower quantities of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, sulphur dioxide and particulates than oil and gas • However, natural gas contains fairly high quantities of methane • Where natural gas deposits are found alongside oil, natural gas is often not collected, but instead burned off- this is a huge waste which is contributing significantly to the accumulation of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere • The fact that natural gas is generally distributed along pipelines means that road/ rail transportation is not needed, making the transportation of natural gas ‘greener’ than other fossil fuels

7. Politics and trade • Many European countries buy natural gas from Russia; poor political relations between Russia and other European nations makes this difficult • Many people worry that Russia will at some point cut-off supplies of natural gas to countries like Ukraine, as it has in the past • Many other parts of the world rely on natural gas from the Middle East; another part of the world which is experiencing political troubles Economic issues • When reserves of natural gas were first discovered in the North Sea, gas was very cheap in Britain • The price of natural gas is steadily increasing though, as it runs out • As gas reserves tend to be unevenly distributed across the world (i.e. some countries have lots and others have none), the price of natural gas is tightly controlled

8. Applicability to uses • Natural gas is well-suited to its use with cooking appliances • Natural gas is generally considered the best fossil fuel for domestic use as it is cleaner, that is, it produces no soot or smoke (particulates) • It is not suitable however as a fuel for vehiclesbecause it is not a liquid, although it can be liquefied