CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
police, EMS, and other responders to understand better and respond safely to a natural gas emergency.
“Experience is a poor teacher; it always gives the test before the lesson.”
SCOPE
This book cannot be the ultimate encyclopedia of the natural gas industry. It is, however, designed to reach a targeted audience—emergency response personnel who have to deal with natural gas in any emergency. Specifically, there are two distinct groups of players in such emergencies, each with a spe- cial knowledge and skill set needed to manage a gas emergency: the natural gas industry and emergency responders.
NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY
The natural gas that cooks, heats and powers vehi- cles everyday travels a long route. The natural gas industry refers to itself in several distinct elements critical to delivering natural gas from the earth to the end user. Where the emergency occurs will dictate which industry element a responder may encounter.
Exploration and Production (E&P)
The first step in the natural gas system is Exploration and Production, referred to as “E&P”. Exploration is the process of trying to find accumulations of natural gas trapped under the earth’s surface in areas throughout the United States and specific locations around the world. The industry spends large amounts of money to find these new locations.
FIGURE 1.2 Natural gas is present in everyday life.
Production is the process of recovering those deposits for processing, dis-
tribution and end use. Drilling for natural gas is a complex process, with new advances in drilling constantly being invented to help the gas industry find more ways to extract gas while protecting the environment.
Processing
FIGURE 1.3 A natural gas well in Texas.
Natural gas taken directly from the earth has impurities that must be re- moved in the processing plant before it can be transported to the end user. They include hydrocarbons, liquids, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and water. Sulfur and carbon dioxide must also be removed from natural gas. Sulfur can dam- age the pipes and has a rotten egg smell, but is valuable. The sulfur extracted from the natural gas makes up 15% of the USA’s sulfur production.
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