Natural gas is a buzzword heard all over television and media. But where does it come from, what is it exactly, and how does it power our homes?

What is Natural Gas?

Natural gas is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas formed from decomposing plants and animals buried under layers of sedimentary rock called reservoirs. Over millions of years, intense heat and pressure transformed this organic matter into what we know today as natural gas. While natural gas is made up of varying amounts of hydrocarbons like pentane, ethane, propane, and butane, gas mainly composed of methane is called dry gas. Wet gas is formed of compounds like ethane and butane in addition to methane — these other natural gas liquids can be separated and sold for various uses, like producing plastic.

The reservoirs where natural gas is found sometimes also contain water and crude oil — the gas found here is called associated gas. Non-associated gas occurs in gas-only reservoirs separate from crude oil, which makes up the majority of natural gas in the United States.

Where is Natural Gas Found?

Natural gas is found in 32 states across the U.S., including Ohio. Most of Ohio's natural gas comes from Utica Shale rock — a reservoir of porous rock located deep beneath the surface across several states including Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and parts of Canada. Natural gas can also be found deep beneath the ocean floor and is extracted by offshore drilling, most of which in the United States occurs in the Gulf of Mexico.

How is Natural Gas Extracted?

The extraction method used to get natural gas gives it one of two types. Conventional natural gas is extracted by traditional drilling methods like wells. Unconventional natural gas can come in the form of shale gas, tight gas, sour gas, or coalbed methane — each with its own extraction method.

In Ohio, the two most common extraction methods are hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. Hydraulic fracturing injects gallons of fluid into rock formations to stimulate the flow of natural gas, with the fractures created greatly increasing the amount of gas extracted. Horizontal drilling travels vertically until it reaches a "kickoff point," then curves to travel horizontally, targeting a larger area of reservoir rock and generating much larger volumes of natural gas with fewer required wells.

How Do We Get Natural Gas?

After the gas is collected, it's sent to a processing plant through small pipelines called gathering lines. Here, the gas is separated from contaminants like water, oil, sulfur, and carbon dioxide to become "pipeline quality" dry natural gas. It is then sent through larger feeder pipelines or stored for future use — Ohio has the eighth-largest state natural gas storage capacity in the country, totaling about 6% of the U.S. total.

The gas then travels via booster stations located at 40–100 mile intervals that compress the gas to move more of it more quickly. Control centers along the way monitor flow rate, pressure, and temperature in real time, with operators able to remotely adjust parts of the pipeline as needed. Regulating stations along the route manipulate pressure to help meet customer demand, ultimately delivering natural gas to distribution companies and then to homes and businesses across the country.

The journey from the wellhead to the home is a long one, but it's one we monitor closely around the clock to make sure your needs are always met. If you're looking for a new, affordable way to power your home, join the millions of Ohioans who use natural gas and enroll today.