Fueling Progress: The Evolution of Natural Gas

Formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals buried beneath layers of rock and mud over millions of years, natural gas has today become one of our most important sources of energy. Clean-burning, efficient and plentiful, it powers all our day-to-day lives in countless ways. But how did that evolution take place? Let’s explore natural gas and its path to becoming a crucial part of the energy landscape.

Ancient Discoveries

More than 3,000 years ago, a natural gas seep in Greece at Mount Parnassus was known to produce a continuous blue flame, which became associated with the Oracle of Delphi. The oracle, known as Pythia, would inhale the vapor and deliver prophecies.

A few hundred years later, the Chinese became the first to actively harvest natural gas, using ancient drilling techniques to reach gas deposits as deep as 2,600 feet and then piping the gas along long lengths of bamboo, where it was used to help produce salt from brine. The innovative techniques developed by the ancient Chinese are the basic model for extraction and transportation still used today.

Native Americans, too, were known to make use of natural gas seeps for centuries. French explorers in the 1600s near Lake Eries witnessed tribespeople lighting the natural gas that seeped from the ground, though it’s not known what they used these gas-powered flames for. Like the modern world, they may have used the flames for cooking and heating or perhaps for various ceremonial purposes.

The Industrial Revolution

In the late 1700s, the British began using coal-produced natural gas as lighting for homes and streetlamps. And by the early part of the next century, it fueled factories there, with each large town having its own gas works by 1821.

The U.S., too, saw rapid expansion of coal-produced natural gas as a fuel at about this time, with Baltimore leading the effort with the Gas Light Company of Baltimore—still in operation today as Baltimore Gas and Electric.

In 1821, a man named William Hart became the first in the U.S. to successfully extract natural gas from the ground when he drilled a 70-foot-deep gas well in Fredonia, New York. He piped this gas to a nearby inn, where it was used for lighting. This inspired the creation of the country’s first natural gas distribution company, the Fredonia Gas Light Company. Within a few years, similar gas companies had opened in New York, Boston and Philadelphia, laying the groundwork for continued expansion of natural gas in the U.S.

20th Century Expansion

Although drilling for natural gas was taking place in late-1800s America, coal gasification produced more natural gas during this period. Large-scale extraction and distribution from underground reservoirs didn’t become widespread until the early 1900s.

Improved techniques for drilling, constructing pipelines and developing storage facilities played a huge part in this expansion. By the end of the 1920s, the U.S. had more than 115,000 miles of natural gas pipelines. And thanks to regulation such as the Hepburn Act of 1906, America saw a standardization of the industry, which helped ensure fair pricing and safety standards.

Large deposits of natural gas were discovered around this time in states like Kansas, Texas and New Mexico, as well, which helped ensure a plentiful supply of this resource as the country sought ways to meet a growing energy demand.

And this expansion of natural gas wasn’t just in the U.S. By the early 1900s, the UK, Germany and Japan all had significant natural gas infrastructure. And by the mid-1900s, the U.S. began creating Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) that could be shipped overseas to regions that lacked this important natural resource. The stage for global trade of natural gas was first set in 1959 when a supply of LNG was shipped from Louisiana to the UK.

Environmental and Economic Impact

As a clean-burning, plentiful fuel, natural gas has become a vital path to a more sustainable world. In 2016, it replaced coal as the No. 1 source of fuel to generate electricity in the U.S., and that’s a good thing economically and environmentally. Natural gas emits about 50% - 60% less carbon dioxide than coal, making it a cleaner alternative. This switch has been a major factor in reducing carbon emissions when it comes to electricity production.

Commonly referred to as a bridge fuel, natural gas also presents opportunities to gradually move more toward other sustainable forms of energy while our technology and understanding of these forms progresses in the future. The world isn’t currently at a place where we can sustain energy demands relying solely on wind and solar. But because natural gas energy plants have the ability to quickly adjust their energy output, they make it possible for us to intermittently use wind and solar when demand is low. This flexibility helps keep our power grids stable and reliable while supporting the integration of other sustainable forms of energy.

From an economic standpoint, natural gas costs less than other fossil fuels, which means consumers save money. The industry also supports thousands of jobs, contributes to state and local revenues and provides domestic energy security, making it possible for the U.S. to be less dependent on other nations.

There are challenges, however. Natural gas prices can be affected by such factors as weather, supply constraints and global demand. Infrastructure can present barriers, too, as extraction, transportation and creating and maintaining new pipelines and storage facilities gets expensive. And let’s not forget the regulation challenges on many levels that can become costly and time-consuming, as well as the potential for geopolitical tensions and trade restrictions.

Modern Innovations

In more recent times, Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) has become a sustainable alternative to conventional natural gas. RNG is made from organic waste such as landfill waste, animal manure, food scraps and wastewater sludge, and it offers several advantages.

For one, it’s carbon neutral, meaning the carbon released during its production is about the same as the carbon absorbed by the organic materials used to create it. It also helps manage organic waste by reducing landfill use and associated methane emissions, and it helps diversify our energy sources, which contributes to energy security and reduces the need for traditional fossil fuels. Worldwide, many countries have adopted RNG as part of their energy strategies. In the U.S., RNG production facilities have quadrupled since 2014, bringing the total here to about 160.

And the world of natural gas continues to evolve. Technologies like hydrogen blending, carbon capture and storage, smart methane detection and even the ever-increasing efficiency of home natural gas appliances all bode well for the future of natural gas.

The Future of Natural Gas

Natural gas presents one of the best options to help meet the world’s continuously growing energy needs for many years to come. It’s clean, affordable, plentiful and allows for flexibility as a bridge fuel. These factors, plus new technologies and ways to use natural gas, highlight the importance of its evolving role in the world’s energy landscape, balancing the need for reliable energy with sustainability.