Jeb Waldschmidt
ENGL 102-05
3-26-05
Natural Gas and the Future of Energy
Until recently natural gas was considered the dirty brother of oil. Natural gas was
often stranded and left undeveloped, often wasting it. Oftentimes natural gas was
considered ‘unusable' and ‘worthless' compared to oil. But now that the oil is running
out a new light is being shown on natural gas. Today natural gas is very much in favor as
a clean fossil fuel, especially for electricity generation in industrialized countries. "Global
proven gas reserves are 5501 TcM with around 60 years of production at current
utilization rates compared to 40 years for oil," writes Pradeep Kurup. According to the
latest numbers people could be using more gas than oil by 2030. According to Kurup,
"that means an even greater incremental growth in both gas supply and transportation
than the industry has seen up to date, with nearly 25% of all natural gas produced now
crossing an international border."
Natural gas is created from the anaerobic decay of organic material. You can find
it in oil fields and natural gas fields and in most swampy or marshy areas. Natural gas is
also generated by animals during digestion. Natural gas is primarily composed of
methane which happens to be the lightest of the hydrocarbon molecules. The other
components of natural gas consist of heavier hydrocarbon molecules such as ethane,
butane, and propane. Hydrogen sulfide and mercury are common contaminants, which
must be removed prior to most uses. Natural gas is emerging as the most important
energy source for the future because it has an abundance of uses and is found almost
anywhere. The abundant supply of natural gas makes it a fine candidate to replace oil as
the dominating source of energy. A lot of people who freaked out when word about peak
oil surfaced now can find comfort in natural gas. Most people probably don't realize that...
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