is whether beneficial findings from a few small places can be extrapolated to the full land. It’s possible that the shale gas is concentrated in sweet places, which are the first to be drilled.
In this recent Oil Drum post, Art Berman and Lynn Pittinger provide a recent study. According to their calculations, total reserves appear to be inflated by more than 100 percent (suggesting that less than half as much natural gas per acre is recoverable as most operators expect), and the price for shale gas to be profitable must be more than double today’s price.
3. Natural gas prices in the United States have been volatile. In comparison to previous prices, current natural gas prices are modest (about $4/mcf).
We’ve grown accustomed to increased oil prices as oil extraction becomes more difficult. Because there is an international market for oil, a scarcity of the commodity leads to higher prices, allowing for the extraction of lower-quality resources (at least until recession sets in, and lowers price, in my view).
With natural gas, in the United States, the situation looks to be different (Figure 4). (Figure 4).
What is the significance of an MCF?
Natural gas is a combustible mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons that is used to create power and heat buildings. This number is then converted to cubic feet. At particular temperatures and pressures, one cubic foot of natural gas is equal to the amount of gas that can fill a volume of one cubic foot. One British Thermal Unit is equal to the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. One million BTUs equals one Mcf of natural gas (1,000 cubic feet).
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the United States compares the energy content of various fuels in BTUs, albeit the BTU content of fuels varies depending on where they are purchased. The EIA has compiled a table that compares the BTU content of several energy sources:
How much does a cubic foot of natural gas cost?
Natural gas per therm average price The national average price per thousand cubic feet in January 2020 was $9.52. That works out to $0.95 per CCF. It’s a natural gas therm price of $0.92 based on the national average heat content of 1,037 Btu per cubic foot in 2019.
What does 1000 cubic feet of natural gas cost?
Natural gas can be priced in dollars per therm, dollars per MMBtu, or dollars per cubic foot in the United States.
1 To translate these costs from one price basis to another, the heat content of natural gas per physical unit (such as Btu per cubic foot) is required. The annual average heat content of natural gas provided to consumers in the United States in 2020 was around 1,037 Btu per cubic foot. As a result, 100 Ccf of natural gas equals 103,700 Btu, or 1.037 therms. A thousand cubic feet (Mcf) of natural gas equals 1.037 million British thermal units (MBtu), or 10.37 therms.
These calculations can be used to convert natural gas prices from one pricing basis to another (assuming a heat content of 1,037 Btu per cubic foot):
Natural gas heat content varies by location and type of natural gas customer, as well as with time. For information on the heat content of the natural gas they supply to their clients, consumers and analysts should contact natural gas distribution firms or natural gas suppliers. Customers’ invoices may include this information from some natural gas distribution providers or utilities.
1 Natural gas was measured in cubic feet by the US Energy Information Administration from 1964 to 1964 at a pressure of 14.65 psia (poundspersquareinchabsolute) at 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Since 1965, the pressurebase has been 14.73 psia at 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
What is a million cubic feet of natural gas (MCF)?
MCF stands for thousand cubic feet and is formed from the Roman numeral M for 1,000, mixed with cubic feet (CF) for natural gas volumetric calculation.
Consider a well with a daily production capability of 500 MCF. The daily production rate of the natural gas well is 500,000 cubic feet. Because one cubic foot of natural gas contains around 1,000 BTU (British Thermal Units) of heat energy, 1,000 cubic feet (MCF) is equal to an average of 1,000,000 BTU.
MCF is a physical, tangible, volumetric measurement unit based on pressure, temperature, and gravity.
What is the cost of natural gas?
Natural gas, on the other hand, is sold in energy units. Btu, Therms, and Joules are all common energy units. The majority of natural gas produced from a subterranean reservoir is methane, along with a variety of other heavier hydrocarbons and, unfortunately, some contaminants. The energy content of the gas when combusted, and hence its eventual value to a customer, would be determined by the relative quantity of heavier hydrocarbons vs methane. Customers are charged for gas-derived energy rather than a specific volume of gas.
Gas prices were traditionally quoted by volume only in the United States, where there is a huge pipeline network with essentially identical gas characteristics (in Mcf). Because the calorific values of the pipeline are relatively identical across the network, gas consumers in the United States could convert purchased volume to energy equivalents. The $/MMBtu pricing technique, on the other hand, has gained favor in the United States in recent years.
Because natural gas is difficult to transport, prices are usually established locally or regionally rather than worldwide, as is the case with oil. Prices can be established by negotiation, regulation, or open-market methods similar to those used in oil markets for the majority of traded natural gas that is carried by pipeline (about 55 percent of total trade). Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is used for the rest of the natural gas trade (LNG). The bulk of LNG cargoes are sold on a long-term contractual basis at prices that are either linked to the cost of feed gas, floating in the destination market, or indexed to oil or other commodities in the LNG market.
Where there are many buyers and sellers of gas, supply and demand have the greatest impact on traded prices. Prices may be set by traders at dedicated physical or electronic exchanges in countries with deregulated markets, such as the United States and Europe, who would price gas at location-specific hubs. Hub gas pricing is becoming the industry standard outside of the United States in Canada, continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and parts of Australia all regions with extensive gas infrastructure, a large number of gas sources and gas consumers, clear regulations, and limited government influence on the markets. There have been attempts to establish hub prices in other parts of the world, such as Singapore, China, and India; however, until the ability to transport gas from these hubs to other regional markets is established, gas regulations are harmonized, sufficient volumes are traded on these hubs, and the veil of secrecy surrounding gas prices in these regions is lifted, it is unlikely that suppliers and buyers from outside the local market will want to trade.
Variables like production levels, gas storage injections and withdrawals, weather patterns, pricing and availability of competing energy sources, and market participants’ views on future trends in any of these or other variables are all supply-and-demand factors that can influence natural gas prices. Gas prices may rise in the winter months if the weather is cold and gas is used for space heating in that particular region. In contrast, if the majority of the gas is utilized to create electricity that is mostly used for air conditioning, gas demand will climb during the hotter summer months. Weather would have a minor impact on gas demand if gas is consumed by industrial consumers, either directly or indirectly. Gas supply disruptions (such as those caused by offshore hurricanes in the US Gulf of Mexico) would restrict supplies and consequently raise prices.
What is the formula for calculating MCF?
With a little arithmetic, it is possible to convert from one measurement system to another.
If you want to do some fast math, burning 100 cubic feet of natural gas (1 CCF) is roughly similar to burning one therm of gas. However, that figure is based on the natural gas’s efficiency, or “heat content.”
The annual average heat content of natural gas delivered to consumers in the United States is 1,037 British Thermal Units (BTU) per cubic foot, according to the Energy Information Administration (CF).
So, 100 cubic feet (1 CCF) of natural gas equals 103,700 Btu, or 1.037 therms, if you want the exact conversion.
This translates to 1.037 MMBtu, or 10.37 therms, per thousand cubic feet (1 MCF) of natural gas.
Here’s how to convert between multiple natural gas unit measurements and prices:
What is the cost of a unit of gas?
The amount of gas consumed at a property is measured in units of gas. One kilowatt hour (kWh) of gas utilized equals one unit of gas. It’s vital to note that your gas meter doesn’t directly reflect how many units you’re consuming; instead, depending on the type of meter you have, it measures the amount of gas used by volume in Cubic Meters (m3) or Cubic Feet (ft3). Your energy provider converts this to Units (kWh’s) on your gas bill. You’ll be charged in pence per kWh (unit) of gas used after that.
How much does a gallon of gas cost?
The current national average price of regular gas is $4.24 per gallon, a rise of more than a dollar over 2020 rates. Every driver’s wallet is feeling the impact of the increasing gas price, which has reached levels not seen since 2008, when gas cost $4.11 per gallon. Although gas costs have reduced over the last decade, Americans are currently facing a big surge in comparison to 2020.
The cost of crude oil, taxes, distribution, and refining are all elements that influence the price drivers pay at the pump. Gas costs are also affected by the ZIP code in which you fill up, with states in the West paying the highest average gas prices and states in the Southeast paying the lowest.
What is the formula for calculating natural gas consumption?
With natural gas usage on the rise, many applications for thermal energy that formerly relied on other fuels, such as steam or hot water, may be candidates for conversion to natural gas. Given the current price differential between natural gas and propane, I believe propane will be used mostly as a backup fuel in the event of gas shortages.
We’ll focus on quick calculation formats so you can select gas line sizes, pressure regulators, control valves, and related equipment based on flow rates in cubic feet per hour. We’ll progress from simple to more difficult computations.
New natural gas equipment will have a BTU per hour rating. Let’s say you want to replace a steam unit heater with a new gas-fired one that can produce 100,000 BTU/HR.
The required flow rate for this new unit heater would be 1000 CFH (100,000 1000) using our rounded safe value of 1000 BTU per cubic foot on natural gas.
Steam or hot water coils are used to heat the air in many air heating applications. If you’re thinking about switching to natural gas, here’s a handy formula for calculating the gas flow rate.
Finding data on air flows when undertaking a retrofit to an old system can be a significant difficulty. This formula may be useful if you find yourself in this circumstance.
Measure the velocity in the air duct with an air velocity meter for the best accuracy. If that isn’t practicable, most HVAC heating applications have an air velocity of 500 to 700 feet per minute. When it comes to process air, the range can be anything from 500 to 1200 feet per minute, therefore measuring air velocities is a good idea.
Check the web for sites that provide engineering information for various air heating applications, such as
Natural gas, like other forms of heat, can be a suitable alternative for heating water and reaping the benefits of natural gas. The following is a fast formula for calculating gas flows:
The rate of temperature rise is used in heating calculations. With a little arithmetic, you may get an equivalent gallons per minute figure if you’re heating a quantity of water from an initial to a final temperature over a period of time.
Assume you want to heat 100 gallons of water from 60 degrees to 180 degrees Fahrenheit in ten minutes. 10 GPM (100 Gallons 10 minutes) is the same as heating 100 gallons of water in 10 minutes.
Many heating applications could be better served by looking at natural gas as a replacement energy source, especially with the emphasis on green and efficient operations and chances to replace other fossil fuels.
What is the best way to read mcf gas?
Your gas meter measures the filling and emptying of compartments inside the meter to keep track of how much gas flows through it correctly and automatically. The flow of gas to your appliances is smooth and uninterrupted since each compartment is emptied as another is filled; the measure is very exact because each compartment fills with the same amount of gas each time.
When you read your meter, you’ll be able to keep track of your gas usage and be better prepared to save energy. Check your utility bill to determine your billing cycle, and then read your meter according to that timetable.
An index is the component of a meter that displays the amount of gas used. There are two types of indexes in our system.
Always record the lower value if your meter has round dials and the pointer is between two numbers. (Unless the pointer is between nine and zero, in which case you read nine because the zero signals the end of a cycle.) Check the dial to the right when the pointer is directly on a number. Record the lower value for the dial on the left if the dial on the right has not yet reached zero. To get a reading, read the dials from left to right and record the numbers in the same sequence.
This meter’s correct reading is 2017. Since all dials were set to zero, a total of 2017 hundred cubic feet (CCF) of gas has gone through the meter. This number can also be written as 201,700 cubic feet.
A direct read meter index is the other type of meter index you might observe.
This type index functions similarly to a car’s odometer. All you have to do is read the number to get a reading. Each of the numbers corresponds to one of the dials displayed.
The meter reading does not include the sets labelled “half foot” and “two feet.” These dials are solely to be used for testing.
Subtract last month’s reading from the present reading to find out how much gas has been used since the previous reading. You’ll be able to better track your gas usage and be more conscious of energy conservation. Please check your utility statement to determine your billing month so that you can read your meter on a consistent basis.
