Natural Gas: Upstream

Vincent Kaminski

This article was first published as a chapter in Energy Markets, by Risk Books.

This chapter covers the production and processing of natural gas prior to injection into the long-haul pipeline systems. Natural gas consumed at the burner tip consists primarily of methane with some additives and trace quantities of other substances. Natural gas at the wellhead is a mixture of hydrocarbons, other gases, water and other substances. In both cases, the same term, natural gas, is used in the industry. Industrial processes that convert gas extracted from the ground into gas consumed by residential, commercial and industrial users (through separation of methane from other hydrocarbons) will be explored in the section on natural gas processing plants, an important but relatively poorly understood segment of the industry. In the US, the importance of gas processing plants and the natural gas liquids they produce is increasing for the reasons that will be explained in detail in the next chapter.

We also provide information about the levels of production and consumption of natural gas in the US and worldwide, and consider the limitations of the available data. We conclude the chapter with a