How do you transport a gas that is colorless, odorless and virtually invisible to the naked eye? That is the challenge for those whose business it is to get natural gas from its source to the millions of residential and industrial consumers who rely on it as a main energy source. Most (95%) of natural gas is transported from the well to the user via a network of pipelines. These are broken into three systems:
1. Gathering systems. These carry natural gas to a treatment plant for bulk processing. These pipelines are 6” to 16” in diameter.
2. Transmission systems. Natural gas is carried over long distances through the transmission system, from the processing plants to local distribution systems throughout the country. The interstate pipeline systems are made up of much larger pipes, running from 16” to 48” in diameter. Some of these pipelines run above ground.
3. Local distribution systems. These deliver natural gas into our homes, businesses and power plants and are made up of pipelines similar in size to those in the gathering systems. These pipelines may snake around buildings and over rooftops, especially in industrial complexes.
Natural gas is harvested through drilling on the land and in the sea, just like its crude oil cousin. In fact, natural gas deposits often are found adjacent to crude oil. As a result, drilling for both products will occur simultaneously. Among the major types of natural gas drilling operations are horizontal drilling, multilateral drilling, extended reach drilling, and complex drilling. Operators consider efficiency and the environment in choosing the type of drilling to use to harvest a particular deposit.
• Horizontal Drilling—Horizontal drilling starts with a vertical well. The well turns horizontal to expose more “legs” of gas to the open drill. The longer the length of exposure, the more natural gas is drained. Horizontal drilling allows more oil and natural gas to be produced with fewer wells and less surface disturbance. However, the technology cannot be used in all areas.
• Multilateral Drilling—In this, producers branch out from the main well to tap reserves at various depths. Multilateral drilling can increase production from a single well as it reduces the amount of surface drilling.
• Extended Reach Drilling—Extended Reach Drilling allows producers to reach deposits that are great distances away from the drilling rig, in areas that cannot be reached with a vertical well. Wells can now be reached over 5 miles from the surface. On land, extended reach drilling allows producers to tap gas deposits under developed or environmentally sensitive areas. Wells can now reach out over 5 miles from the surface location. Offshore, the use of extended reach drilling allows producers to reach accumulations far from offshore platforms, minimizing the number of platforms needed to produce all the oil and gas.
• Complex Path Drilling—Complex Path Drilling creates well paths that have multiple twists and turns, in an attempt to hit multiple accumulations from a single well location. Complex drilling can have multiple benefits, cutting costs, minimizing waste and reducing surface impacts.
The natural gas industry is constantly look for ways to transport and harvest its product in a way that reduces the environmental impact, cuts costs and increases output to meet the growing demand for this valuable energy source.