什么是天然气?
天然气由碳氢化合物气体组成，主要是甲烷. Natural gas was formed millions of years ago when animals and plants died and were buried under many layers of rock and soil. Over time, the tremendous heat and pressure created by the layers of earth turned the animal and plant matter into 天然气 and petroleum (oil). 这就是为什么天然气被称为“化石燃料”.”
Natural gas is found in layers of rock with tiny holes – the rock holds the gas like a sponge. 天然气通常深埋在地表以下, 通常与石油的沉积物，并被井移除.
《lol比赛押注平台》
The U.S. 天然气工业直到20世纪20年代才出现. 而不是天然气, there was a well-established “manufactured gas” industry that had been supplying light to cities for streetlights since the early 1800s. 各州能够控制当地的天然气分配, but they could not regulate transmission rates for the few interstate pipelines that existed. 1938年，国会通过了《lol比赛押注app》(Natural Gas Act), which gave the Federal Power Commission (FPC) authority to regulate interstate transmission and sales.
《lol比赛押注app》只规定了传输速率，而没有规定井口价格. 1954年, the Supreme Court of the United States had ruled that the FPC should also regulate 天然气 production and gathering. 1954年7月，FPC冻结了井口价格.
The first Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil embargo occurred in 1973. The oil-price shocks that followed the embargo directly affected the electric industry, 因为以石油为燃料的发电厂仍然相当普遍. 因为井口天然气的价格被限制了, 随着现有油井产量的下降，供应量开始下降. For the 天然气 industry, predictions of complete supply exhaustion were common. 解决迫在眉睫的能源短缺问题, Congress passed a broad series of bills collectively known as the National Energy Legislation of 1978. The primary goals of this legislation were to promote energy conservation and to increase production and use of domestic fuels.
The National Energy Legislation contained several key laws affecting both the electric and 天然气 industries:
- 公共事业管理政策法案: encourage energy conservation and mandate that utilities purchase electric power from “qualifying” independent wholesale producers
- 发电厂和工业燃料使用法案: designed to encourage utilities and large industrial customers to use coal instead of 天然气
- 国家能源节约政策法案: designed to promote energy conservation by mandating that electric and 天然气 utilities promote energy efficiency by customers, 包括通过公用事业账单为保护投资融资的项目
- 能源税法:为节能提供税收优惠, 可再生能源, 以及对每加仑行驶里程较低的汽车征收“耗油税”
- 天然气政策法案(NGPA): addressed the impact of price controls on exploration and development and set a timetable for deregulating wellhead 天然气 prices
到20世纪90年代，一个充满活力的天然气批发市场完全建立起来. 美国天然气市场的放松管制.S. 花了许多年才完成. It took passage of the Natural Gas Wellhead Decontrol Act of 1989 to abolish all remaining federal price controls on 天然气. FERC implemented several landmark orders addressing interstate pipeline deregulation:
- Order No. 380 (1984): eliminated local distribution companies’ minimum bill requirements and made it feasible for many local distribution companies (LDCs) to switch 天然气 suppliers
- Order No. 436/500 (1985/1987):在美国实施自愿开放获取.S. pipeline companies and dealt with economic problems arising from long-term take-or-pay contracts between producers and local distributors
- Order No. 636 (1992): unbundled transportation from marketing activities and make pipeline-affiliated companies sell their 天然气 before entering into the transmission system
- Order No. 637 (2000): designed to further improve the efficiency of the market while continuing to protect against pipelines’ exercising market power
After wellhead 天然气 prices were fully deregulated, production and supplies exploded. 天然气价格低, 发展独立的电力批发市场, 技术改进, 以及对燃煤发电日益增长的环境担忧, led to new, substantial investments in gas-fired generating capacity to meet growing electric demand. 天然气成为“首选燃料”，不仅用于发电.
Recently, huge increases in shale gas production have caused wellhead prices to drop significantly. 为了出口天然气，液化天然气(LNG)设施正在进行改造, 而不是导入. 获取天然气供应需要一个强大的州际管道基础设施. 它们必须首先得到FERC的批准.
Source: 能源管制的基本原理乔纳森·A. Lesser博士和Leonardo R. Giacchino博士
如何使用天然气?
天然气是美国的主要能源来源. 美国35%的发电量.S. 2018年来自天然气. About 4.18 trillion kWh of electricity were generated at utility-scale electricity generation facilities in the United States. 其中63%的电力来自化石燃料(煤), 天然气, petroleum, 和其他气体). 约20%来自核能，约17%来自可再生能源. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that an additional 30 billion kWh of electricity generation was from small-scale solar photovoltaic systems in 2018.
资料来源:美国能源情报署(2019年)
为什么要使用天然气?
- Affordable ——因为北美天然气资源丰富, 天然气是当今美国最便宜的能源之一. Natural gas is an increasingly affordable energy option for residential and commercial consumers and in manufacturing, 化工生产和发电.
- Clean – Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel emitting extremely low levels of pollutants blamed for ground level smog. 与其他化石燃料相比, 天然气排放的温室气体显著减少, 谁是全球变暖的罪魁祸首.
- Safe – The design, 建设, operation, inspection and maintenance of all operating pipelines are subject to state and federal regulations and requirements. 根据美国.S. 交通部, 管道是最安全的, most environmentally-friendly and most efficient and reliable mode of transporting 天然气.
- 舒适的, The temperature of gas heat at the register is between 110- and 120-degrees Fahrenheit, 哪一种方法能快速有效地温暖你的家.
- Reliable – A properly maintained 天然气 furnace will provide about 20 years of reliable service. 大多数天然气都是用来做饭的, ranges, 在停电的情况下，热水器和壁炉也能正常工作, 让你做饭, bathe, 不受干扰地温暖你的家.
- Efficient – Natural gas furnaces and water heaters now can achieve efficiency levels as high as 98 percent.
- 方便的,– Natural gas provides instant heat with an adjustable temperature that can be controlled on gas cook tops or ranges and by thermostats. 天然气壁炉可以让你避免劈柴, 有一个燃木壁炉会带来拖运或混乱. Enjoy outdoor cooking on a 天然气 grill throughout the year at a flip of a switch.
印第安纳州的天然气是否比美国其他地区更便宜?
Yes. 根据美国.S. 据美国能源情报署统计，住宅天然气价格为7美元.每千立方英尺77立方英尺在印第安纳州和. $9.每千立方英尺43立方米.S. 2018年11月平均值.
我们在美国有足够的天然气供所有客户使用吗?
The U.S. 现在是世界上最大的天然气生产国吗.
在接下来的十年里, domestic 天然气 supplies are expected to be sufficiently robust to meet substantial growth in demand across all sectors.