Abstract:

The concept of natural gas and its characteristics were highlighted in this paper. By supplying
natural gas to every country in the globe, it also lessens the burden on the nations that are the
primary producers in the natural gas sector. A brief history of natural gas is also provided, along
with information on how to create it through refining or by mining it from the earth. Natural gas
accumulation is a crucial part of the production process because it indicates how to store the gas
securely in a facility while adhering to local and federal laws.

Natural gas is rapidly replacing other fossil fuels as the fuel of preference for those who are
concerned with environmental issues due to its lower harmful emissions than those of other fossil
fuels. Major global oil and gas companies are increasingly concentrating their research efforts on
finding gas in remote locations and an ever ocean depths. When a gas field is discovered, it must
be developed, produced, gathered, processed, and given to the customer. In essence, the
equilibrium between mobile force and resistance causes hydrocarbon buildup. In this instance,
the efficiency of the accumulation rises with increasing separation from the parent rock. In the
past, reservoirs have developed over time. Significant gas fields can also be found in zones in
sedimentary rock, fractured anticline belts, unconformity belts, and zones near source rocks.

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Introduction:
Natural gas is a mix of hydrocarbon-rich vapors. The environment contains a variety of gases
that appear naturally, including methane, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and others. Natural gas is
created naturally over thousands of years from decomposing plant and animal matter that is
trapped in rock layers strata. When the gas is produced, it tends to travel through the pores,
cracks, and cracks in the soil and rocks. Natural gas deposits are found deep within the ground,
along with other beds of both liquid and solid fuels like coal and crude oil. Methane, or CH4,
constitutes the majority of natural gas. In addition to a mixture of butane, propane, and pentane
gases when it is first found in nature, raw natural gas may also contain trace quantities of
nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. During processing, natural gas is refined so that it can
be distributed as methane with a small quantity of ethane.

Benefits of natural gas on other fuels:

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

1. Abundant
2. Emission of Greenhouse gases
3. Versatility
4. Cost effective
Development of natural gas:
Natural gas was first discovered through unrefined oil exploration. Natural gas was commonly an
unwanted byproduct because natural gas sources had to be accessed throughout the drilling
process and workers had to stop work so the gas could evacuate freely into the atmosphere.
Particularly in the aftermath of the crude oil shortages of the 1970s, natural gas has become a
major source of energy worldwide. All through the 19th century, natural gas was mostly
exclusively used as a means of lighting, and due to the just several complete systems, it was
difficult to carry large quantities of natural gas over great distances. Although the invention of
leak-proof pipe couplings in 1890 was a major development for the sector, it wasn't until the
1920s that sufficiently long gas transportation was found to be economically viable. The
development of pipeline networks and storage systems, which resulted in a major rise in the use
of natural gas, didn't occur till after the World War II.

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Countries producing natural gas:
The world's biggest natural gas reserves are in Russia, and the country is expected to export 238
billion cubic meters of gas in 2020, which is more than any other country. Iran has the second-
largest natural gas deposits. Iran is one of the most hydrocarbon-rich areas in the world, with an
approximated 145 hydrocarbon reserves, 297 gas and oil reserves, and the potential for more.
Qatar is home to slightly more than 13% of the country's natural gas deposits. The bulk of the
country's reserves are located in the offshore North Field. In the United States, there are many
natural gas deposits, with the highest amounts found in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. The
United States has enough natural gas to last at least another 60 years, if not longer, according to
projections. The Persian Gulf holds the majority of Saudi Arabia's reserves of natural gas, which
are the fifth-largest in the globe.

Figure 1: Countries natural gas reserves

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

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Materials and Methods:
Properties of natural gas:
There are several properties of natural gas which are described in the following:
Composition:

Figure 2: Typical composition of natural gas

Phase behavior:
The natural gas phase behavior, which is a depiction of pressure versus temperature, identifies
whether the natural gas stream contains a singular gas phase or two phases, gas and liquid, at a
particular pressure and temperature. On a phase diagram, the phase behavior of natural gas with
a particular composition is usually shown as follows:

Figure 3: PT Diagram for natural gas mixture

(Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/natural-gas-phase-behavior#:~:text=The%20natural
%20gas%20phase%20behavior,two%20phases%2C%20gas%20and%20liquid.)

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Physical properties:
Table 1: Properties of natural gas

https://www.nedgia.es/conocenos/en/characteristics-of-natural-gas/

Molecular formula CH4

Mixed molecular weight 18,2
Boiling temperature at 1 atmosphere -160,0 °C
Melting temperature -180,0 °C
Density of the vapors (Air = 1) at 15.5 0,61
Density of the liquid (Water = 1) at 0 °C / 4 °C 0,554
Expansion Ratio 1 liter of liquid becomes 600 liters of gas
Solubility in water at 20 °C Slightly soluble (from 0.1 to 1.0%)

Two phase system:

When two different phases interact and flow through a channel with one another, each phase is
thought of as a volume or mass of substance. This is referred to as two-phase flow. Combinations
of solid, gas, and/or liquid phases can occur in the two phases.

Figure 4: Two phase system

(Source: https://web.mit.edu/16.unified/www/FALL/thermodynamics/notes/node61.html)

https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780123706102/transport-phenomena-in-multiphase-
systems

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Conventional gas reservoirs:
The efficiency and recovery of a gas reservoir can vary widely depending on a number of
physical factors. It should be feasible to retrieve almost all of the in-place gas in a natural gas
(mono) reserve by lowering the pressure adequately. However, if the pressure in the solid rock
formation is adequately maintained by the advancing water, some of the gas will be lost to
production by being caught by capillary pressure behind the advancing water front. Associated
gas is produced along with the hydrocarbon and is extracted from it at the level.

Figure 5: Geology of conventional natural gas reserves

(Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1875510020303899)

Unconventional gas reservoirs:

In geologic environments that are distinct from normal petroleum traps, sizable amounts of gas
have accumulated. This kind of gas is known as unconventional gas, and it can be discovered in
coal seams, joints, and fractures in shales as well as "tight" (i.e., comparatively impermeable)
sandstones. Significant amounts of gas are also distributed or trapped in formation fluids that are
warmed under geo-pressure, as well as trapped in methane hydrates in cold arctic and oceanic
environments. Given the current state of technology and the state of the economy, it may be
more expensive to use and produce at considerably lower rates than conventional gas fields.

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 Figure 6: Unconventional method of natural gas reserves

(Source: https://www.pmfias.com/shale-gas-coalbed-methane-reserves-india-world-extraction-shale-gas-hydro-
fracturing-fracking/)

Methane hydrates:
The mysterious molecular structures known as methane hydrates, in which solitary methane
molecules are enclosed in icy cage-like crystallites of water molecules, are believed to hold
enormous quantities of natural gas. The ocean floor is home to methane hydrates close to the
edges of continental margins and beneath the ice in Polar Regions.

Tight gas:
Tight gas is found in sandstones with efficient porosity, such as blanket sandstones or lenticular
sandstones. These relatively impermeable quartz sand serve as repositories for sizeable quantities
of gas that are typically uneconomical to produce via traditional vertical wells because of their
relatively low flow rates.

Shale gas:
Shale gas was produced using organic mud that had collected at the bottom of long-gone pools of
water. The following heat and pressure caused the mud to change into shale through
sedimentation and the creation of natural gas from the organic material it held. During lengthy
geologic eras, some of the gas migrated to adjacent sandstones and was trapped there, creating
typical gas accumulations.

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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. 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.

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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