The purpose for all carbon fuels is the same, to produce energy. Carbon fuels are fuels found beneath the earth. They formed from decayed animal and plant matter and they are non-renewable. There are three major categories of carbon fuels and those are coal, oil and natural gas. Even though coal is the first fuel of this kind used and oil enjoys the greatest popularity, natural gas plays a very important part in modern fuel industry.

Natural gas is composed of methane, which is a hydrocarbon. You will find it in many places where you can identify oil and coal, but it has also its own separate locations. In its unprocessed state, it may have other hydrocarbons like butane and propane. Methane is another greenhouse gas, as other fossil fuels, which is odorless. Gas can catch fire easily. Due to this lack of odor and for preventing unwanted accidents, the law requires the adding of a substance with odor in order to detect it in case of leaks. Usually, this substance is Mercaptan. It adds a pungent smell.

The world reserves of natural gas are estimated to last for another 60 to 65 years. However, this estimation considers exclusively our current rate of use. In 2004, in the US, the use of gas reached 23 million cubic feet. The production covered only 19 million cubic feet, while imports from Canada and Mexico covered the shortfall. Natural gas satisfies about 25 percent of the energy demand in the US. The use of it extends from industries to commercial establishments and residences. The primary use for natural gas is heating and cooking. The number of homes that use natural gas for heating purposes exceeds 62 million. Therefore, in winter, the demand for natural gas is higher. In some industries, it is the base for producing electricity.

Natural gas is the preferred fuel of companies that produce electricity. This is due to its emissions. The levels of sulfur emitted by natural gas are lower than other fossil fuels. Therefore, it burns cleaner, but it is a factor in creating a greenhouse effect on the environment. Safety precautions are always necessary when a company is working with natural gas.

A gas corporation is a company that engages the supply of natural gas. Something that posed a problem for a gas corporation was the way to distribute the natural gas. The solution came with the interstate pipeline system. It is very efficient in moving natural gas from the producing regions to the consumer regions. It is common that natural gas has to travel a great distance to reach the point where consumers will use it. In addition, the transportation of natural gas and its storage interrelate. When transportation of the gas to its destination occurs, but, at that precise moment, the consumer requirement of gas is idle, a gas distributor will use storage facilities until consumers will need gas. The interstate pipeline system in the US consists of over 40 such pipelines that help distribute the gas throughout the nation.

Three major types of pipelines a gas corporation may use in its transportation route: the gathering system, the interstate pipeline and the distribution system. The gathering system is basically composed of low pressure, low diameter pipelines that are used to transport the natural gas in its raw form from the point it is gathered to the processing plant.

Pipelines can be either interstate or intrastate. The interstate pipelines transport the natural gas over state boundaries, in some cases they even go across the whole country. The intrastate pipelines transport the gas within a certain state. The distribution system consists of pipes that deliver the natural gas from the storage facility to the consumers.

The role natural gas plays in the electricity producing industry has a great importance throughout the nation. Anyone who conducts business in any way with a gas corporation needs to know a lot of information about the interstate pipeline system used for the distribution of natural gas.