In this post, let’s have some fun with natural gas related vocabulary. We’ve chosen one word or phrase from the natural gas industry for every letter in the alphabet to help readers brush up on industry terminology. Some you’ve definitely heard of but there should be some new natural gas industry terminology for everyone.
Acre Foot
This unit of measurement used to describe natural gas reservoirs is the equivalent of one acre of producing formation one foot thick.
British Thermal Unit (Btu)
Btus are commonly used to describe the heat output of natural gas appliances – but do you know how much heat equals 1 Btu?
One British thermal unit is the amount of heat needed to raise one pound of water one degree from 58.5F to 59.5F under standard pressure of 30 inches of mercury at or near its point of maximum density. One Btu can also be expressed as 252 calories or 1,055 joules.
Calculated Bill
A calculated bill is a type of billing method where the utility approximates gas consumption over a billing period instead of taking meter readings. The calculation is made using past gas consumption data and outside temperatures over the time frame being billed.
Dig-in
A dig-in is an accident we’d all like to avoid! It’s when an excavator damages underground gas facilities – usually caused by not marking utility lines before beginning to dig.
Energy Audit
An in-depth review of a customer’s energy usage including an onsite walkthrough to look for opportunities to improve energy efficiency. An energy audit provides expert recommendations for the customer to reduce consumption or prevent waste.
Flue Gas
The carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxygen and nitrogen that escape before the draft hood or draft regulator is known as flue gas.
Gasification
Converting LNG to its vapor state is known as gasification. The gasification process involves increasing the temperature and decreasing the pressure on the liquified natural gas.
Hydrocarbon
Hydrocarbons are chemical compounds composed entirely out of just two elements, carbon and hydrogen. Hydrocarbons can be gaseous, liquid or solid.
Intrastate Gas
Intrastate gas refers to natural gas produced, sold and consumed within the same state and never transported across state lines using interstate pipelines.
Joint Compounds
Pipe joints are best sealed against leaks when using a joint compound to lubricate the threads and complete the seal.
Killing A Well
To kill a well is to stop the pressure in a well that is blowing out to prevent any further flow of gas.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
LNG is a liquid form of methane achieved by superchilling methane gas to -260F. The purpose of LNG is to store and/or ship methane as the liquefied version takes up just 1/600th of the volume compares to the vaporous form.
Methane
Methane is the primary component of natural gas and the simplest hydrocarbon, containing just one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms.
Netback Value
Also known as the wellhead price, the netback value is the price of natural gas at its destination market minus the cost of treating, liquefying, shipping or otherwise transporting the gas from the source to the end consumer
Off-take
The acquisition and removal of gas from a pipeline by utilities or some other large-scale purchaser or consumer.
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
A U.S. agency that regulates the safe construction and operation of oil and gas transmission pipelines.
Quad
One quadrillion Btu is often referred to as a “quad.” One quad contains approximately the same quantity of energy as one trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Reservoir
A reservoir typically refers to the partition of a resource that has been not only discovered but that is also currently extractable, both technically and economically.
Send-out Capacity
Send-out capacity is the total volume that a plant or regasification terminal can deliver over a given period of time.
Trillion Cubic Feet
A gas field’s total reserves or annual natural gas production are usually measured in trillion cubic feet. Trillion cubic feet is also used to denote total consumption within a geographic region.
Unconventional Gas
Natural gas that is difficult and/or expensive to extract and produce, such as shale gas or coal-bed methane is known as unconventional gas. As technology improves, more unconventional gas resources can be extracted.
Vaporizer
A heat exchange used to return LNG to its gaseous form and then heated to the correct temperature for traveling through the distribution system.
Wet Gas
Natural gas that contains more than trace amounts of ethane, propane, butane and pentane.
Yield Point
A yield point is the stress level where a material exceeds its elastic limit. Below the yield point, a material will recover its original form once the stress is removed. size on removal of the stress. Above the yield point, it will not.
Zero Gas
Gas at atmospheric pressure is known as zero gas.
We hope this post helped you learn some new natural gas industry terminology!
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