Chapter One Introduction

GEOLOGICAL OCCURRENCE OF NATURAL GAS

Certain requirements must be met for a commercial deposit of
petroleum to exist. These are:
1. A source; that is, material from which the petroleum is
formed.
2. Porous and permeable beds in which the petroleum may
migrate and accumulate after being formed.
3. A trap or subsurface condition restricting further movement
so that it may accumulate in commercial quantities.
Natural gas and crude oil are generated from organic
matter under the influence of increasing temperature and time.
Both the type of organic matter and the temperature it
experiences have a role in controlling whether oil or gas is
formed.

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Chapter One Introduction

Fig. 1-3. Illustration of differential entrapment principle,

showing various stages of hydrocarbon accumulation in an
anticline. Solid and dashed arrows denote oil and gas movement
respectively. (After Gussow) Courtesy American Association of
Petroleum Geologists.

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Chapter One Introduction

Fig. 1-4. Final condition of differential entrapment in a series of

interconnected traps. (After Gussow) courtesy American
Association of Petroleum Geologists.
CHARACTERISTICS OF NATURAL GAS
Natural gas is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases with some
impurities, mainly nitrogen (N2) , hydrogen sulfide (H2S) , and
carbon dioxide (C02) , Gases containing significant amounts of
H2S or CO2 or both are called sour or acid gases. These
impurities must be removed before the gas is used as a fuel. The
hydrocarbon gases are methane, ethane, propane, butanes,
pentanes, and small amounts of hexanes, heptanes, and some
heavier fractions. In gas used for fuel, methane is the largest
component, usually 95 to 98%.
Natural gas is normally considered to be a mixture of
straight chain or paraffin hydrocarbon compounds. However,
occasionally cyclic and aromatic compounds occur in a natural
gas. The molecular structures of some of these are shown in
Figure 1-5. The general formula for the paraffin hydrocarbons is
CnH2n+2, where n is the number of carbon atoms.

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Chapter One Introduction

Fig. 1-5. Hydrocarbon gas molecule structures.

Gas Composition
The actual composition of a natural gas can vary over wide
ranges. Even two gas wells producing from the same reservoir
may have different compositions. Table 1-12 shows typical
hydrocarbon compositions of the gas produced from different
types of reservoirs. The composition of the gas produced from a
given reservoir may change with time if liquids condense in the
reservoir as pressure declines. This occurs in a so-called
retrograde condensate reservoir.

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Chapter One Introduction

TABLE 1-12
Typical Natural Gas Compositions

OTHER SOURCES OF GASEOUS FUEL

Alternatives to conventional sources of natural gas are
importation of liquefied natural gas, substitute natural gas, coal
gasification, and gas from shale reservoirs. The technology
required for handling and transporting these gases once they are
produced is essentially the same as for natural gases.
Liquefied Natural Gas. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is
essentially methane that is liquefied at atmospheric pressure by
cooling it to - 260oF. The phase change reduces the volume by
623: 1, and approximately 15% of the energy is consumed in the
phase change. Most of the LNG imported into the United States
comes from Algeria and is transported in large tankers that hold
approximately 750,000 barrels of LNG. This is equivalent to
about 2.5 Bcf of gas.
Coal Gasification. Synthetic gas from coal has been
investigated in several pilot plants in the United States, but the
commercial viability has not been demonstrated. The gas
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Chapter One Introduction

derived from coal is usually low in heating value as compared to

natural gas.
Substitute Natural Gas. Substitute natural gas (SNG) can
be made from liquid petroleum feedstock such as naphtha, crude
oil, propane, and butane. Facilities exist for this process, but the
cost is extremely high in comparison to natural gas at its present
price. SNG may well become economical in the near future as
demand for all forms of energy increases.
Gas from Devonian Shale. Gas from Devonian shale
formations is a potential source of gaseous fuel that could be
extracted from an area of approximately 250,000 square miles of
formations underlying the middle and eastern portions of the
United States.
Tight Formation Gas. Gas from very low permeability
formations is being produced from deposits in the Rocky
Mountain states of the United States.
Gasfrom Geopressured Aquifers. High pressure brine in
geopressured aquifers may contain 30 to 40 scf of natural gas
per barrel of water.
GAS PRODUCTION OPERATIONS
The engineer involved in gas production operations has
one principal objective: to move the gas from some location in
an underground reservoir to a pipeline that may be used to
transport it to its final destination. Figure 1-6 shows that this
involves moving the gas through a porous medium or rock
formation, to the surface through casing or tubing, to separation
facilities through a surface piping system, through a compressor
if one is necessary to maintain sufficient flow rates, and finally
through a surface line to the point of utilization.

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Chapter One Introduction

Fig. 1-6. Possible pressure losses in complete system.