Gas reserves

Proven oil reserves, instead of being depleted, as a matter of fact, tripled over the last 30 years and now are a trillion barrels. Natural gas reserves have grown even more. This seems so impressive that most people assume that there can be no oil or gas shortage in sight. However, inevitably increasing consumption by a growing world population... 

Recognized Oil and Natural Gas Reserves (in billion tons) from 1960 to 1990... 

Na.tura.1 Ga.s Reserves. U.S. natural gas reserves could support a significant methanol fuel program. 1990 proved, ie, well characterized amounts with access to markets and producible at current market conditions U.S. resources are 4.8 trillion cubic meters... 

As shown in Table 8, U.S. distribution of oil and natural gas reserves is centered in Alaska, Cahfomia, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and the U.S. outer-continental shelf. Alaska reserves include both the Pmdhoe Bay deposits and the Cook Inlet fields. Cahfomia deposits include those in Santa Barbara, the Wilmington Eield, the Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1 at Bakersfield, and other offshore oil deposits. The Yates Pield, Austin Chalk formation, and Permian Basin are among the producing sources of petroleum and natural gas in Texas. 

Gas reserves equal dry natural gas plus natural gas Hquids. 

The decrease in petroleum and natural gas reserves has encouraged interest in and discovery and development of unconventional sources of these hydrocarbons. Principal alternatives to conventional petroleum reserves include oil shale (qv) and tar sands (qv). Oil shale reserves in the United States are estimated at 20,000 EJ (19.4 x 10 Btu) and estimates of tar sands and oil sands reserves are on the order of 11 EJ (10 x 10 Btu) (see Tarsands Shale oil). Of particular interest are the McKittrick, EeUows, and Taft quadrangles of Cahfomia, the Asphalt Ridge area of Utah, the Asphalt, Kentucky area, and related geographic regions. 

Region Coal reservesl991 Petroleumreserves 1992 Natural gas reserves 1992 ... 

The potential of natural gas, which typically has 85—95% methane, has been recognized as a plentiful and clean alternative feedstock to cmde oil (see Gas,natural). Estimates (1 3) place worldwide natural gas reserves at ca 1 x (3.5 x 10 ft ) corresponding to the energy equivalent of ca... 

X 10 (637 X 10 bbl) of oil. As of this writing, the rate of discovery of proven natural gas reserves is increasing faster than the rate of natural gas... 

Confederation of Independent States (CIS) are denoted as explored reserves and include proved, probable, and some possible gas. The data for Canada also include some probable reserves. The worldwide natural gas reserves have continued to increase as the demand for gas has increased and exploration efforts have expanded. In 1976, the world natural gas reserves were estimated to be 6.58 x 10. In 1987, the reserves were 1.06 x lO ", and by 1992... 

Table 1. Natural Gas Reserves, Production, Imports, and Exports ...

World natural gas reserves and production ate shown in Table 3 (see also Fuels, SYN IHETIc). The deposits of natural gas are extensive and provide sources of feedstock and fuel. 

Consumption of natural gas, as of the mid-1990s, was about 2000 x 10 /yr. Using seismic detection equipment, exploration firms search for gas reserves buried deep underground and beneath the sea floor. Advanced computer systems process the seismic data to pinpoint the most likely locations for reserves. These advanced systems have both cut the time required for data analysis, by 80%, and gready improved the success rate for new drill rigs. 

Some petroleum geologists believe that there may be more methane trapped in hydrates than what is associated with natural gas reserves. However, as an energy source, there is considerable uncertainty whether this methane can ever be recovered safely, economically, and with minimal environmental impact. The Russians have experimented with the use of antifreeze to break down hydrates at some onshore locations in Siberia. But perhaps a more promising approach would be to pipe warm surface water to the bottom to melt the hydrates, with a collector positioned to convey the gas to the surface. Another approach might be to free methane by somehow reducing the pressure on the methane hydrates. 

The industry has developed higher compression tanks to expand the range, and more fast-fill stations are becoming available, yet the prospects of the majority of service stations adding compressed natural gas refueling anytime in the near future are bleak. The oil companies, which control most of the service stations and over 60 percent of America s natural gas reserves, are not eager to make the massive infrastructure investment to cannibalize the billions of dollars they have tied up in refineries, pipelines, and service sta-... 

Debate continues over just how much natural gas remains in North America. Part of this debate centers on the definition of gas reserves—the amount of gas in a given area that is recoverable and gas resource, the total amount of gas in the ground. Gas production to date, as might be expected, has most commonly been from easy-to-produce conventional... 

Volume 2 presents the industry standards and practices for reservoir and production engineering. This second volume examines all aspects petroleum economics and shows how to estimate oil and gas reserves. 

Recoverable oil reserves are given as 1.23 x 10 toe. The UK consumption is only 70 x 10 toe, some 60 x 10 toe being exported from the total annual production of 130 X 10 toe. At this total production level there is only 10 years supply (but the cessation of exports would virtually double the life). Gas reserves are similarly limited, and are said to be equivalent to about 40 years. 

Classification of gas reserves and resources recommended by the World Petroleum Congress in 1987... 

Appraisal wells, drilled at the exploration stage within structures or other traps with an observed oil and gas content for the purpose of studying the geological structure of the deposit and the quality of the mineral to the extent necessary to permit confirmation of oil and natural gas reserves in categories which will serve as a basis for investment decisions, as well as obtaining data required for developing and exploiting the deposit. 

Whereas the oil and gas fuel crisis has receded recently, the problem of their restrained use still remains an urgent one if only because the oil and gas reserves are not unlimited and practically non-reproducible. Estimates by specialists have shown [2, 3] that the development of PCM with a view to cut the consumption of polymeric materials can only be economically feasible if not less than 15% by volume of the filler are added. 

Tphe Middle East oil crisis increased natural gas needs, and dwindling gas reserves have intensified the need to use our huge coal reserves for the synthesis of gas, especially methane. Energy requirements will double in the next 10 years and triple before the turn of the century. Use of pipeline gas has been increasing by 6% per year, almost double the overall energy demand. The rate of gas discovery in the United States has not kept pace with use, and the estimated reserves of some 2,500 trillion cubic feet could easily be depleted in 25 years. Liquid natural gas is imported to ease shortages, but it is 5-10 times as expensive as natural gas. 

These products can be fairly easily processed into high-quality diesel and jet fuel in theory, any source of carbon can be used to generate synthesis gas. These facts along with the growing need for petroleum alternatives have renewed interest in FT synthesis. During the twentieth century, the FT process was used to produce fuels from coal in large and costly reactors. Recently, this megasize approach has been applied to world-scale GTL plants in Qatar. However, to tap abundant biomass resources and stranded natural gas reserves, a smaller scale, yet economically viable, FT process is needed. 

Why build there Large gas and petroleum deposits have been found in the area around Kenai and it is expected that additional oil and gas reserves will be discovered nearby. Natural gas is not only a source for heat and power but also the major raw material in the production of ammonia. Approximately 4 x 107 BTU (107 kcal) of energy are required per ton of ammonia produced. The nearness of the plant to the gas field makes the gas inexpensive. 

---