Author: bomuo

The pressure used as a standard in determining gas volume. Volumes are measured at operating pressures and then corrected to base pressure volume. Base pressure is normally defined in any gas measurement contract.

There are two uses for natural gas in storage facilities: meeting base load requirements and meeting peak load requirements. Base load storage capacity is used to meet seasonal demand increases and is capable of holding enough natural gas to satisfy long term seasonal demand requirements. Typically, the turn-over rate for natural gas in these facilities is a year; natural gas is generally injected during the summer and withdrawn during the winter. These reservoirs are larger, but their delivery rates are relatively low, meaning the natural gas that can be extracted each day is limited. Instead, these facilities provide a prolonged, steady supply of natural gas. Depleted gas reservoirs are the most common type of base load storage facility. Peak load storage facilities are designed to have high-deliverability for short periods of time, meaning natural gas can be withdrawn from storage quickly should the need arise. Peak load facilities are intended to meet sudden, short-term demand increases. These facilities cannot hold as much natural gas as base load facilities; however, they can deliver smaller amounts of gas more quickly, and can also be replenished in a shorter amount of time than base load facilities. Salt caverns are the most common type of peak load storage facility, although aquifers may be used to meet these demands as well.

The Barnett Shale is a hydrocarbon-producing geological formation which consists of sedimentary rocks and the productive part of the formation is estimated to stretch from the city of Dallas west and south, covering 13,000 km² and is estimated by some as the largest onshore natural gas field in the United States. The Barnett Shale has acted as an important source and sealing cap rock for conventional oil and gas reservoirs in the area. It was thought that only a few of the thicker sections close to Fort Worth would support economic drilling. It was not until the 1980’s with new advances in horizontal drilling and well fracturing technology used by Mitchell Energy, a small independent, that the potential of the Barnett Shale was realized. Significant drilling activity did not begin until gas prices increased in the late 1990’s. Devon Energy acquired Mitchell Energy in 2002, and has established itself as the leading producer from the Barnett Shale. Natural gas production in the US increased by 8.8% during the first half of 2008 compared to the previous year with most production stemming from the Barnett layer in Texas, which is proof that new reserves can be extracted thanks to new technology

For mobile offshore drilling rigs, weight added to make the rig more seaworthy, increase its draft, or sink it to the seafloor.   Seawater is usually used for ballast, but sometimes concrete or iron is used additionally to lower the rig’s center of gravity permanently. A ballast is also a voyage with no cargo on board to get a ship in position for the next loading port or docking

Represents the balance between the natural gas supply and the natural gas disposition. The difference – the gap – may be due to losses of gas or due to data reporting problems. Reporting problems could include differences due to the net result of metering at the entry point versus the exit point or the metering at various temperature or pressure bases and converted to a standard temperature or metering bases