Quick Facts
General
• Natural gas is a clear, odorless, gaseous mixture of hydrocarbons made mostly of methane.
• Natural gas is measured and sold in volumes of cubic feet.
• In transportation, natural gas is used as compressed natural gas, or CNG.
• Another form of natural gas is liquefied natural gas, or LNG, which is condensed to a liquid by
cooling the gas to -260°F. Six hundred cubic feet of natural gas turns into just one cubic foot of
liquid gas, making it easier to transport and store.
Oklahoma
• Oklahoma is the 3rd largest producer of natural gas, providing 1,643.3 billion cubic feet in 2007.
• Oklahoma is ranked 5th in the amount of natural gas reserves yet to be explored and produced.
• Eight percent of America’s natural gas liquid reserves are located in Oklahoma.
• Eight of the 50 greatest energy fields in America are located in Oklahoma.
National
• Natural gas is delivered nationwide through a 2.2 million mile underground pipeline system.
• 18,509 miles of that pipeline is in Oklahoma. Natural gas provides a quarter of the nation’s total
energy supply.
• 84% of the natural gas consumed in the United States is produced in the U.S. Canada provides
much of the rest at 13%.
• Natural gas is found in 33 states in America and 55 countries around the world.
• Natural gas travels through pipelines at the slow and steady pace of 15 miles per hour.
Features
• Slightly more than half of the homes in the U.S. use natural gas as their main heating fuel.
• 62.5% of home appliances – kitchen stoves and clothes dryers – operate on natural gas.
• There are about 130,000 vehicles that run on CNG on American roadways now, and about
7 million worldwide.
• Natural gas is the raw material for many common products, such as: paints,
fertilizer, plastics, antifreeze, dyes, photographic film and medicines.
Economic Impact
• The state’s oil and natural gas companies paid $8.9 billion to their employees in 2007.
• The state’s oil and natural gas sector produced an estimated $40 billion in total output in 2007,
more than three times the level at the most recent bottom in 1999.
• Oklahoma oil and natural gas production generates $11 billion in purchases of goods and services
from other Oklahoma firms.
• The $8.9 billion in oil and natural gas income supported an additional $9 billion in compensation
for workers in other fields through spillover effects in 2007.
Jobs in Oklahoma
• The oil and natural gas industry employs about 76,000 Oklahomans directly.
• Each direct job in the oil and natural gas sector supports 3 additional jobs in the broader state
economy – roughly 245,000 additional jobs.
• One in every 7 jobs in Oklahoma is directly or indirectly supported by the oil and natural
gas industry.
State Budget
• Oil and natural gas companies and royalty owners pay 7% in gross production taxes on the oil and
natural gas they produce.
• In 2007, the oil and natural gas industry paid nearly $1 billion in gross production taxes.
• Gross production taxes pay for education expenses, roads and other state government services.
• Including income taxes, sales taxes and gross production taxes paid by producers and their
employees, the oil and natural gas industry provides nearly 20% of the revenue in the state budget.
Technologies of Drilling
• Oil and natural gas wells have traditionally been drilled vertically, at depths ranging from a few
thousand feet to as deep as five miles.
• The use of horizontal and directional drilling makes it possible for a single well to produce natural
gas from much bigger areas than in the past.
• Advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have supported rapid shale development
such as the Woodford in southeast Oklahoma.
• The hydraulic fracturing process consists of pumping fluids down a natural gas or oil well at
pressures sufficient to create fractures in the hydrocarbon-bearing rock formation.
• Advanced technology like satellites, global positioning systems, and 3-D and 4-D seismic software
make it possible to discover natural gas reserves while drilling fewer wells, thus lessening the
environmental impact at the surface.
• 3-D and 4-D seismic technology works by bouncing sound waves into the earth. The waves
bounce off the rock formations to create a computer model of the rocks under the surface.
Geologists can tell from these models whether is it economically and environmentally sound to
retrieve the oil or natural gas from these formations.
• It can cost as much as $5 million or more to drill a horizontal natural gas well in Oklahoma.
• While the cost factor for a horizontal well may be as much as two or three times that of a vertical
well, the production factor can be enhanced as much as 15 or 20 times.
• According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the production ratio for horizontal wells versus vertical
wells is 3.2 to 1, while the cost ratio of horizontal versus vertical wells is only 2 to 1.
What is CNG?
• CNG is created by compressing natural gas to less than 1% of its volume at standard
atmospheric pressure.
• It is stored in high-pressure fuel-storage tanks, much like those you use in scuba diving.
• It is abundant, domestic, economical, clean-burning and an alternative fuel source for vehicles.
• On average, 1 mcf (thousand cubic feet) of CNG = 8 gallons of traditional fuel.
• There are about 1,100 CNG fueling stations around the U.S. Twenty-three stations are open to the
public in Oklahoma.
• You can install a kit at your home to fuel your CNG vehicle overnight.
• Converting 5% of the 6.5 million heavy trucks on American roadways to CNG would help the
country cut its overseas oil imports by 5%.
Is CNG Safe?
• CNG is non-corrosive, non-toxic and less combustible than traditional fuels.
• CNG is lighter than air and will dissipate if leaked. Traditional fuels can sink and pool.
• The on-board tanks are made of steel up to one-half inch thick and often wrapped in protective
reinforced fiberglass sheathing.
Environmental Benefits*
• 25% fewer carbon dioxide emissions than traditional fuels.
• 90% fewer carbon monoxide emissions than traditional fuels.
• 35% fewer nitrogen oxide emissions.
• Emits fewer carcinogenic pollutants.
• Emits little or no particulate matter.
*Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency