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Natural gas, a clean-burning, abundant fuel that is capable of highly efficient electric power generation, is now generally acclaimed as the fuel of the future, the fuel of choice, and it might very well be. It is expected to overtake and pass oil as a source of energy early in the 21st century. However, this was not always true. Although gas is said to have been used in China as far back as 200 B.C.,<ref name=Meyerhoff_1980>Meyerhoff, A. A., 1980, Proved and ultimate reserves of natural gas and [[Natural-gas liquids|natural gas liquids]] in the world: Proceedings of the 10th World Petroleum Congress (Bucharest, 1979), v. 2 (exploration, supply, and demand), p. 303-311.</ref> until as recently as 1960, natural gas was regarded as a nuisance, a less-valued by-product of crude oil exploration and production to be gotten rid of as cheaply as possible, commonly by venting it to the atmosphere or by [[flaring]] it. Exploratory drilling for natural gas was not seriously considered, and finding gas when searching for oil was commonly considered a calamity.

Natural gas, a clean-burning, abundant fuel that is capable of highly efficient electric power generation, is now generally acclaimed as the fuel of the future, the fuel of choice, and it might very well be. It is expected to overtake and pass oil as a source of energy early in the 21st century. However, this was not always true. Although gas is said to have been used in China as far back as 200 B.C.,<ref name=Meyerhoff_1980>Meyerhoff, A. A., 1980, Proved and ultimate reserves of natural gas and natural gas liquids in the world: Proceedings of the 10th World Petroleum Congress (Bucharest, 1979), v. 2 (exploration, supply, and demand), p. 303-311.</ref> until as recently as 1960, natural gas was regarded as a nuisance, a less-valued by-product of [[crude oil]] exploration and production to be gotten rid of as cheaply as possible, commonly by venting it to the atmosphere or by [[flaring]] it. Exploratory drilling for natural gas was not seriously considered, and finding gas when searching for oil was commonly considered a calamity.

The main reasons for this lack of interest in discovering and producing natural gas were the low price of gas and the difficulty and high cost of transporting and distributing it. Natural gas can only be transported through pipelines or in liquefied form in special, very expensive cryogenic tankers. There was little incentive, therefore, to discover and produce natural gas if considerable distance separated the natural-gas deposits from the centers of consumption, and such was certainly the case for what we now know are some of the largest accumulations of natural gas in the world, in the former Soviet Union (FSU) and in the [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/452764/Persian-Gulf Persian Gulf] region. During the 1950s, only in the United States was natural gas produced, transported, and consumed in substantial amounts. In 1950, the United States accounted for 90% of the world's natural-gas production and was still producing 75% of the world's total in 1960.<ref name=Masters_1993>Masters, C. D., 1993, World resources of natural gas-A discussion, ''in'' D. G. Howel, ed., [http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1570 The future of energy gases]: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1570, p. 607-616.</ref>

The main reasons for this lack of interest in discovering and producing natural gas were the low price of gas and the difficulty and high cost of transporting and distributing it. Natural gas can only be transported through pipelines or in liquefied form in special, very expensive cryogenic tankers. There was little incentive, therefore, to discover and produce natural gas if considerable distance separated the natural-gas deposits from the centers of consumption, and such was certainly the case for what we now know are some of the largest accumulations of natural gas in the world, in the former Soviet Union (FSU) and in the [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/452764/Persian-Gulf Persian Gulf] region. During the 1950s, only in the United States was natural gas produced, transported, and consumed in substantial amounts. In 1950, the United States accounted for 90% of the world's natural-gas production and was still producing 75% of the world's total in 1960.<ref name=Masters_1993>Masters, C. D., 1993, World resources of natural gas-A discussion, ''in'' D. G. Howel, ed., [http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1570 The future of energy gases]: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1570, p. 607-616.</ref>

[[file:St54Ch3Figure29.jpg|thumb|300px|{{figure number|1}}World natural-gas production. From<ref name=Salvador_2005>Salvador, Amos, 2005, Energy-A historical perspective and 21st century forecast: AAPG Studies in Geology 54, 208 p.</ref>.]]

[[file:St54Ch3Figure29.jpg|thumb|300px|{{figure number|1}}World natural-gas production. From Salvador.<ref name=Salvador_2005>Salvador, A., 2005, Energy-A historical perspective and 21st century forecast: AAPG Studies in Geology 54, 208 p.</ref>]]

As shown in [[:file:St54Ch3Figure29.jpg|Figure 1]], the picture has changed dramatically in the last two or three decades as demand for natural gas has greatly increased: (1) markets for natural gas have developed in Europe, Japan, and elsewhere; (2) more gas was needed to be reinjected in oil fields in an advanced state of depletion; (3) the technologies of gas liquefaction and pipeline construction have improved, lowering the cost of long-distance natural gas transportation; and (4) environmental consciousness has become an important issue in the energy policy agenda, particularly in the developed world. Natural gas has indeed become the fuel of choice in most energy markets worldwide, particularly in the power-generation sector, where gas has been able to compete successfully with [[coal]] and has become the chosen fuel for the majority of new electric power-generating plants using combined-cycle gas turbines. Natural gas has been found to be clean, cost-competitive, and plentiful.

As shown in [[:file:St54Ch3Figure29.jpg|Figure 1]], the picture has changed dramatically in the last two or three decades as demand for natural gas has greatly increased: (1) markets for natural gas have developed in Europe, Japan, and elsewhere; (2) more gas was needed to be reinjected in oil fields in an advanced state of depletion; (3) the technologies of gas liquefaction and pipeline construction have improved, lowering the cost of long-distance natural gas transportation; and (4) environmental consciousness has become an important issue in the energy policy agenda, particularly in the developed world. Natural gas has indeed become the fuel of choice in most energy markets worldwide, particularly in the power-generation sector, where gas has been able to compete successfully with [[coal]] and has become the chosen fuel for the majority of new electric power-generating plants using combined-cycle gas turbines. Natural gas has been found to be clean, cost-competitive, and plentiful.

* [[Natural-gas liquids]]

* [[Natural-gas liquids]]

* [[Natural gas occurrence]]

* [[Natural gas occurrence]]

==References==

==References==

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* [http://http://archives.datapages.com/data/alt-browse/aapg-special-volumes/sg54.htm Original content in Datapages]

* [http://http://archives.datapages.com/data/alt-browse/aapg-special-volumes/sg54.htm Original content in Datapages]