Natural Gas

 

Oil and natural gas are produced by the same geological process: anaerobic decay of organic matter deep under the Earth's surface. As a consequence, oil and natural gas are often found together. In common usage, deposits rich in oil are known as oil fields, and deposits rich in natural gas are called natural gas fields.
In general, organic sediments buried in depths of 1,000 m to 6,000 m (at temperatures of 60 °C to 150 °C) generate oil, while sediments buried deeper and at higher temperatures generate natural gas. The deeper the source, the "drier" the gas (that is, the smaller the proportion of condensates in the gas). Because both oil and natural gas are lighter than water, they tend to rise from their sources until they either seep to the surface or are trapped by a non-permeable layer of rock. They can be extracted from the trap by drilling.

Gas Fields

The largest natural gas field is South Pars/Asalouyeh gas field, which is shared between Iran and Qatar. The second largest natural gas field is located in Novy Urengoy, Russia.

Offshore gas fields

The drillship Discoverer Enterprise is shown at work during exploratory phase of a new offshore field. The Offshore Support Vessel Toisa Perseus is shown in the background, illustrating part of the complex logistics of offshore oil and gas exploration and production.

Like oil, natural gas is often found underwater in offshore gas fields such as the North Sea, Corrib Gas Field off Ireland, and the Scotian Shelf near Sable Island. The technology utilized to extract and transport offshore natural gas is different from land-based fields in that a few, very large, rigs are usually used, due to the cost and logistical difficulties in working over water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

List of natural gas fields

This list of natural gas fields includes major fields of the past and present. N.B. Some of the items listed are basins or projects that comprise many fields (e.g. Sakhalin has three fields: Chayvo, Odoptu, and Arkutun-Dagi). Amounts in parentheses are estimated reserves in trillion ft³ (TCF) and 109 m³.

Countries where natural gas fields are located

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By location

Australia

• Bass Strait
• Greater Gorgon (40 TCF, 1100 109 m³)

Azerbaijan

• Shah Deniz gas field (22 TCF)

Bolivia

• Margarita (gas field)
• Sabalo (gas field)
• San Alberto

Canada

• Sable Offshore Energy Project

Indonesia

• Tangguh gas field (14 TCF, 500 109m³)

Iran

• Asalouyeh, South Pars Gas Field (estimated between 280 and 500 TCF)

Netherlands

• Groningen (100 TCF, 2850 109 m³)

New Zealand

• Maui gas field (unknown)

North Sea

• Ormen Lange, Norway (11.1 TCF, 397 109m³)
• Troll, Norway

Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea

• Snøhvit, Norway (3.9 TCF, 140 109m³)
• Troll, Norway (1325 109m³)

Qatar

• North Field, Ras Laffan (exceeding 900 trillion cubic feet (14% of the world’s total proven gas reserves)

Russia

• Sakhalin-I (17.1 TCF, 484 109m³)
• Shtokman field (113 TCF, 3,000 109m³)
• Urengoy gas field (280 TCF, 7,500 109m³)
• Yamburg gas field (118 TCF; 3,200 109m³)
• Zapolyarnoye gas field (78 TCF; 2,100 109m³)
• Yuzhno-Russkoye field

United States

• Barnett Shale (2.1 TCF prove, estimated as high as 30 TCF)
• Hugoton Natural Gas Area (27 TCF between 1927 and 1996, remains active)
• Jonah Field (10.5 TCF, 297 109m³)

Venezuela

• Deltana Platform (6 TCF).

 

By size

Sorted on size (*109 m³);

1. Asalouyeh, South Pars Gas Field (10000 - 15000)
2. Urengoy gas field (10000)
3. Shtokman field (3200)
4. Karachaganak field, Kazakhstan (1800)
5. Slochteren (1500)
6. Troll (1325)
7. Greater Gorgon (1100)
8. Shah Deniz gas field (800)
9. Tangguh gas field (500)
10. Sakhalin-I (485)
11. Ormen Lange (400)
12. Jonah Field (300)
13. Snøhvit (140)
14. Barnett Shale (60 - 900)
15. Maui gas field (?)

 

Stranded gas reserve

A stranded gas reserve is a natural gas field that has been discovered, but remains unusable for either physicial or economic reasons. Gas that is found within oil wells is conventionally regarded as associated gas and has historically been flared. It is also now sometimes recirculated back into oil wells in order to maintain extraction pressure or converted into electricity using gas powered engines.

 

Economically Stranded Gas

A reserve of gas can be economically stranded for one of two reasons.

• The reserve may be too remote from a market for natural gas, hence making the construction of pipelines prohibitively expensive.
• The reserve may be in a region where demand for gas is saturated, and the cost of exporting gas beyond this region is too great. These are the most likely to be tapped in the future when existing sources begin to run out.

 

Physically Stranded Gas

A gas field that is too deep to drill for, or is beneath an obstruction may be considered physically stranded despite access being desirable. Continual evolution of drilling technology has progressively unlocked access to many hard to access fields.

 

Other Mineral Resources:

• Coal
• Gold
• Iron
• Mineral
• Oil
• Plutonium
• Steel
• Uranium