Environmental Aspects of the Natural Gas Supply Chain
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Natural gas is the most environmentally friendly fossil fuel. It is cleaner burning than its fuel cousins coal or petroleum because it contains less carbon. Natural gas also has less sulfur and nitrogen compounds, and, when it is burned, it emits fewer ash particulates into the air than coal or petroleum fuels. Natural gas demand in the United States is expected to be 26.55 trillion cubic feet by the year 2035, which indicates an increase of 16% over 2009 demand levels. This increase is expected because emissions of greenhouse gases are much lower, with the consumption of natural gas relative to other fossil fuel consumption. When natural gas is burned, it emits lower quantities of greenhouse gases and criteria pollutants per unit of energy produced than do other fossil fuels. The reason is that natural gas is more easily fully combusted, and it contains low carbon content and fewer impurities than any other fossil fuel. The amount of carbon dioxide produced for an equivalent amount of heat production varies substantially among the fossil fuels, with natural gas producing the least. Nevertheless, gas production and processing operations have the potential for a variety of impacts on the environment. As the global community will rely heavily on gas supplies for the foreseeable future, the challenge is to meet world energy demands, while minimizing adverse impacts on the environment. The broad environmental issues faced by the gas production and processing industry are manifested at both local and global levels. The gas processing industry has been proactive in the development of management systems, operational practices, and engineering technology targeted at minimizing environmental impact. These practices have been supported by environmental regulatory frameworks, and they reduced the number and impact of environmental incidents worldwide. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of environmental issues associated with natural gas production, processing, and transmission. It also discusses the environmental management aspects and the best approaches to achieving high environmental performance.
