Natural Gas, from Well to Consumer

Published on 07.08.2024

5 min read

Middle School High School
History, geography and geopolitics

Natural gas is a strategic source of energy in the world today, a fact highlighted by the war in Ukraine. It is often considered as a transition energy, as it generates less pollution than other fossil energies and has many different uses. Here’s how natural gas is extracted, processed, stored and distributed, from production to consumption. A process referred to as the gas “value chain”. 

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The PARAGON L1115 located near the shore of Qatar

Onshore and Offshore Production

Formed over millions of years from organic sediments, natural gas is extracted from subsurface reservoirs, either under the surface of the land ( ), or under the sea ( ). The operation consists in bringing the gas back up to the surface by a well, sometimes down to depths of 6,000 meters.

After separating different products, the gas which is essentially , is channeled to the transport facilities. Gas is transported either in its gaseous state, through onshore or subsea gas pipelines, or in its liquid state, by LNG carriers. 

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