- Table of Contents
The United States is a federal constitutional republic situated in central North America, which comprises fifty states and a The United States is a federal constitutional republic situated in central North America, which comprises of fifty states and a federal district. The country is bordered by the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The United States is the third largest country in the world with a total surface of 9.83 million square kilometers (3.79 million square mile), and is inhabited by 313 million people (2012 estimate). The country has a capitalist mixed economy and it has the largest nominal GDP in the world. The US is the largest importer of goods and the third largest exporter, although exports per capita are relatively low. Top trading partners of the United States are Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, and Germany.[1] The United States is the largest gas consumer in the world, consuming 683,371 mcm of natural gas in 2010. The United States has a natural gas supply per capita of 1.818 toe. The United States holds substantial natural gas reserves, totaling 4.4% of the world reserves of natural gas in 2010. [2]
| Basic Gas Facts | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010e |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gas reserves (bcm) | - | - | 7468 | 7712 | 8368 |
| Gas production (mcm) | 524295 | 545880 | 571121 | 583093 | 612921 |
| Gas consumption (mcm) | 614041 | 654199 | 658997 | 646788 | 683371 |
| Gas imports (mcm) | 118542 | 130473 | 112818 | 106225 | 105815 |
| imports pipeline (mcm) | - | 108645 | 102859 | 93428 | 93610 |
| imports LNG (mcm) | 16524 | 21828 | 9959 | 12797 | 12205 |
| import dependency (%)* | 15.97% | 16.38% | 12.98% | 11.73% | 10.77% |
| Gas exports (mcm) | 20501 | 23290 | 27276 | 30366 | 32190 |
| Natural gas supply per capita (toe) | 1.679 | 1.797 | 1.775 | 1.737 | 1.818 |
| Technically recoverable shale gas resources (bcm) | .. | .. | .. | 24411 | .. |
| Coal Bed Methane reserves (bcm)** | .. | 619.4 | .. | .. | .. |
| c = confidential; - = nill; ..= not available * Imports dependency of natural gas = (imports - exports) / consumption **Proven & Probable (2P); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Coalbed Methane Outreach Program Sources: IEA Natural Gas Information 2011, Global Methane Initiative, US Energy Information Administration | |||||
| Basic Energy Facts | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010e |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Energy Consumption (mtoe) | 2302.8 | 2339.34 | 2283.72 | 2162.92 | 2234.99 |
| CO2 Emissions, energy-related (Mt) | .. | 5769.31 | 5595.92 | 5195.02 | .. |
| CO2 intensity, energy-related (tCO2/toe) | .. | 2.47 | 2.45 | 2.4 | .. |
| Energy consumption per capita (toe/cap) | 8.48 | 8.57 | 8.33 | .. | .. |
| CO2 per capita, energy-related (tCO2/cap) | .. | 19.1 | 18.38 | 16.9 | .. |
| c = confidential; - = nill; ..= not available Sources: IEA Natural Gas Information 2011 & EIA International Energy Statistics | |||||
The US has a large reserve of unconventional resources. Total coalbed methane resources are estimated at 620 bcm. The US is the leading producer of coal seam gas. Total production in 2007 was estimated at 49,668 mcm.[1] The US possess the second-largest reserve of shale gas, next to China. In recent years, the US started producing natural gas from shale reserves, making it less dependent from foreign energy supplies.[2]
- 1. Global Methane Initiative/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Coal Mine Methane Country Profiles 2010
- 2. EIA Analysis & Projections - World Shale Gas Resources 2011
This section explores total primary energy consumption and gas demand by sector for the US.
In 2010, The United States’ TPEC amounted to 2,234.99 mtoe, a 3.3% increase compared to 2009. In 2010, oil accounted for 807.94 mtoe while coal and gas accounted for 513.00 mtoe and 564.29 mtoe respectively. Other sectors accounted for 349.76 mtoe. [1]
In 2010 the United States consumed a total of 683,371 mcm of natural gas, a 5.7% increase compared to gas consumption in 2009, which was 646,788 mcm. That in turn was a 1.85% decrease compared to natural gas consumption in 2008, when it yielded 658,997 mcm. In 2009, 210,340 mcm were used for transformation and 128,772 mcm for the industry while 222,656 mcm was consumed by other sectors.[1] Transformation includes the generation of electricity, while the demand from the ‘Energy Sector’ refers to gas used for the extraction of coal, oil, and gas and gas used in refineries, coke ovens and gas works.
This section deals with gas reserves, exploration & production, gas imports and gas exports
The United States holds the fourth largest conventional gas reserves in the world. It hosts approximately 4.4% of the world’s total reserves: 8,364 bcm of natural gas at the end of 2010. [1]
In 2010 the US produced 612,621 bcm. The reserves-to-production ratio for the United States is 13.7 years, [1] slightly lower than the EU’s average RP ratio of 14.0 years.[2]
*Reserves-to-production (R/P) ratio – If the reserves remaining at the end of any year are divided by the production in that year, the result is the length of time that those remaining reserves would last if production were to continue at that rate.
| By country of origin (in mcm) | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | %Total 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 101657 | 107114 | 101632 | 92627 | 92761 | 87.66% |
| Algeria | 494 | 2189 | - | - | - | - |
| Mexico | 361 | 1531 | 1227 | 801 | 849 | 0.80% |
| Norway | - | - | 421 | 830 | 737 | 0.70% |
| Egypt | 3385 | 3245 | 1553 | 4543 | 2067 | 1.95% |
| Nigeria | 1622 | 2691 | 341 | 377 | 1182 | 1.12% |
| Peru | - | - | - | - | 454 | 0.43% |
| Qatar | - | 520 | 88 | 359 | 1291 | 1.22% |
| Trinidad & Tobago | 11023 | 12679 | 7556 | 6688 | 5373 | 5.08% |
| Yemen | - | - | - | - | 1101 | 1.04% |
| Other | - | 504 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 118542 | 130473 | 112818 | 106225 | 105815 | 100% |
| %Total Consumption | 19.31% | 19.94% | 17.12% | 16.42% | 15.48% | - |
| c = confidential; - = nill; ..= not available Source: Natural gas information 2011 & OECD/IEA, 2011 | ||||||
| By transport type (in mcm) | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | %Total 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pipeline imports | 102018 | 108645 | 102859 | 93428 | 93610 | 88% |
| LNG imports | 16524 | 21828 | 9959 | 12797 | 12205 | 12% |
| Total | 118542 | 130473 | 112818 | 106225 | 105815 | 100% |
| c = confidential; - = nill; ..= not available Source: Natural gas information 2011 & OECD/IEA, 2011 | ||||||
In 2010, gas imports account for 15.5% of the total volumes of consumed gas, signaling a relatively low dependence on imports, although the United States is the largest importer of natural gas in the world in absolute terms. Gas is imported both by pipeline and by LNG ships. Most of the gas is imported from Canada.
| By country of destination (in mcm) | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | %Total 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 9658 | 13654 | 15819 | 19839 | 20919 | 64.99% |
| Korea | - | - | - | 77 | 334 | 1.04% |
| Japan | 1721 | 1371 | 1109 | 865 | 932 | 2.90% |
| Mexico | 9122 | 8265 | 10348 | 9585 | 9443 | 29.34% |
| Spain | - | - | - | - | 117 | 0.36% |
| UK | - | - | - | - | 271 | 0.84% |
| Other | - | - | - | - | 174 | 0.54% |
| Total | 20501 | 23290 | 27276 | 30366 | 32190 | 100% |
| %Total Production | 3.91% | 4.27% | 4.78% | 5.21% | 5.25% | - |
| c = confidential; - = nill; ..= not available Source: Natural gas information 2011 & OECD/IEA, 2011 | ||||||
The major export markets for the US are Canada and Mexico. In 2010, the US exported 32,190 mcm, a 6% increase compared to the previous year, when the US exported 30,366 mcm.
This section deals with the gas grid, LNG terminals and storage facilities.
Pipelines
Most of the interstate, intrastate and offshore pipelines are owned and operated by publicly held companies.[1] The Federal Electricity Regulatory Commission (FERC) removed the barriers to competition in 1992 by letting firms unbundle their gathering, transportation and storage services – that is, allowing them to price these services separately. Other FERC actions revised transportation rate structures, which led to higher pipeline-system efficieny, lower shipping costs and more effective allocation of pipeline capacity. Operators still face regulatory hurdles in siting new pipelines and in meeting environmental regulations. Pipeline deregulation also impacted the operations of local gas distribution companies (LDCs). In each state, a “public utility commission” has authority over LDC operations. [2]
Currently, there are eleven LNG regasification facilities and one LNG liquefaction plant. It is considered to equip regasification facilities with equipment to liquefy gas as well. Next to the existing LNG facilities, many new facilities have been proposed and some are already under construction. [1], [2]
| Site | Storage | - | Regasification | - | - | Owner | Operator | TPA | Start-up | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | # Tanks | Storage cap* | #Vaporizers | Max hourly cap** | Nom.cap*** | - | - | - | - | - |
| Everett, AK | 2 | 155 | 4 | .. | 7.3 | GDF Suez | Domac | .. | .. | E |
| Cove Point, MD | 7 | 700 | 25 | .. | 19.8 | Dominion | Cove Point LNG | .. | .. | E |
| Elba Island, GA | 5 | 535 | 11 | .. | 17.2 | El paso | Southern LNG | .. | .. | E |
| Lake Charles, LA | 4 | 425 | 14 | .. | 25.6 | Southern Union | Trunkline LNG | .. | .. | E |
| Gulf Gateway | 1 | 150 | .. | .. | 4.9 | Excelerate Energy | Gulf Gateway Energy Bridge | .. | .. | E |
| Northeast Gateway | 1 | 150 | .. | .. | 4.9 | Excelerate Energy | Northeast Gateway | .. | .. | E |
| Freeport, TX**** | 2 | 331 | 7 | .. | 19 | Cheniere/Freeport LNG Dev. | .. | .. | .. | E |
| Sabine, LA**** | 3 | 480 | 16 | .. | 28.5 | Cheniere/Sabine Pass LNG | .. | .. | .. | E |
| Cameron LNG**** | 3 | 480 | 10 | .. | 16.4 | Sempra | Cameron LNG | .. | .. | E |
| Neptune LNG**** | 2 | 290 | .. | .. | 4.1 | GDF Suez | Neptune LNG | .. | .. | E |
| Sabine Pass, TX (phase 1 & 2)**** | 3 | 480 | 16 | .. | 28.5 | ExxonMobil | Golden Pass | .. | .. | E |
| c = confidential; - = nill; ..= not available E = existing; A = approved; P = proposed TPA: Regulated ( R) - Negotiated (N) - Hybrid (H) - Not Applicable (X) * LNG storage capacity in m3 x1000 in LNG **max. hourly capacity in m3(N)x1000/hour. ***nominal annual capacity in bm3(N)/y ****Authorized to / Potentially to re-export deliverd LNG Sources: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission & NGI 2011 | ||||||||||
During 2010 there were 403 operational storage facilities in the United States with a combined technical storage capacity of 123,740 mcm.
| Nr. | Region | Number of sites | Storage Capacity (mcm) | Withdraw | Injection (mcm/day) | TPA | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | (mcm/day) | - | - | - |
| 1 | US East | 38 | 9352 | .. | .. | .. | Aquifer |
| - | - | 216 | 55396 | .. | .. | .. | Depleted Field |
| - | - | 4 | 223 | .. | .. | .. | Salt Cavity |
| 2 | US West | 5 | 914 | .. | .. | .. | Aquifer |
| - | - | 41 | 18376 | .. | .. | .. | Depleted Field |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Salt Cavity |
| 3 | Producing | 69 | 31797 | .. | .. | .. | Depleted Field |
| - | - | 30 | 7682 | .. | .. | .. | Salt Cavity |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Aquifer |
| - | Total | 403 | 123740 | - | - | - | - |
| TPA: Regulated ( R) - Negotiated (N) - Hybrid (H) - Not Applicable (X) .. = not available, - = nill Source: IEA Natural Gas Information 2011 | |||||||
This section deals with the gas market regulation in upstream, the transmission grid and downstream.
More than 500 natural gas processing plants are currently operational in the United States, primarily located near major gas and oil producing areas of the Southwest and the Rocky Mountain States. In addition to that, more than half of the plants are located convenient to the Federal offshore, Texas, and Louisiana. Deregulation of the United States gas market started in 1978, as the Natural Gas Policy Act set the stage for phased decontrol of wellhead prices. In the mid-1980s, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) took action to reduce energy costs and help improve the competitive position of natural gas against low-priced oil. Before the 1990s gas and oil companies primarily owned the natural gas processing plants. Between 1995 and 2004, however, the types of companies owning and/or operating the processing plants shifted from primarily oil and gas producers to midstream companies. As a result, in 2004, midstream operating companies such as Duke Energy Field Services (54 plants), Enterprise Products Operating LP (26 plants), Targa resources (21 plants) and BP PLC (13 plants) dominate the market. [1]
The Federal Electricity Regulatory Commission (FERC) removed the barriers to competition in 1992 by letting firms unbundle their gathering, transportation and storage services – that is, allowing them to price these services separately. Other FERC actions revised transportation rate structures, which led to higher pipeline-system efficiency, lower shipping costs and more effective allocation of pipeline capacity. Operators still face regulatory hurdles in siting new pipelines and in meeting environmental regulations. Pipeline deregulation also impacted the operations of local gas distribution companies (LDCs). In each state, a “public utility commission” has authority over LDC operations. [1]
The US market is characterized by a large number of distribution companies that vary in size. The larger distribution companies are mostly publicly held stock companies, whereas many smaller companies are owned and operated by municipalities. Natural gas distributing are not allowed to earn a profit on the sale of gas; instead they earn revenue from the transportation and distribution charges, which is regulated at state level. [1]
Suggest reference
Comments
add commentJPmmckANvgF
Wow, this is in every rseepct what I needed to know.
Jacie