Natural gas has been beneath the Earth’s surface for millions of years, and we have been delivering it safely and reliably for more than 200 years. Our longevity makes it easy to believe we are an industry that has been doing the same thing the same way for a very long time, but nothing could be further from the truth. While we supply natural gas every minute of every day, the industry is also investing in innovation at the same pace.
Everything about the way we extract, transport and deliver natural gas has changed, from the technology platforms that we operate to the pipeline materials that we use, and even the skill sets of the women and men doing the work. Our natural gas revolution is the direct result of technological innovation that fundamentally transformed the energy conversation worldwide by using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing together to unlock the abundance of natural gas trapped in shale formations. The efficiency of our exploration efforts and the production of our shale plays has continued to increase tremendously since that time.
We install 28,000 miles of modern plastic pipe per year, connecting new customers and upgrading existing pipeline infrastructure, while we continue to make advances in pipeline materials and the processes for how we couple, wrap and fuse our lines.
And every day, we are on the hunt, from Silicon Valley to the tip of Florida, for talented workers—the engineers, programmers and cybersecurity experts whom we need to operate a 21st-century energy-delivery system.
We are forward thinkers. When we talk about our energy future, we are envisioning a natural gas industry that will continue to discover, innovate and evolve. We foresee widespread adoption of nascent technologies and inventions on the horizon that will continue to advance and improve America’s energy economy. There are too many examples to chronicle here, but the message I am delivering to policymakers is that natural gas will play a fundamental role in any realistic planning scenario because of the myriad ways American ingenuity will continue to deliver our domestic abundance efficiently, reliably and safely.
In this issue of American Gas, we look at some of the ways that American Gas Association members are incorporating an exciting innovation—renewable natural gas—into their service territories. This carbon-neutral fuel is versatile and is fully compatible with our pipeline systems. The examples we share from Oregon, Michigan, California and Vermont, which is working with our neighbors in Quebec, only scratch the surface of how America’s natural gas utilities are embracing this technology. In the story, Tom Murray, vice president of customers and communities for Vermont Gas, says his biggest surprise in their RNG venture has been seeing how eyes light up and people engage when they realize the opportunities for us to utilize our pipeline network to deliver a new renewable fuel product.
Using RNG with next-generation natural gas technologies further reduces emissions. The expanded development of RNG, coupled with natural gas technology innovations, can help achieve our shared goal of reducing emissions while giving customers more choices and maintaining affordability, reliability and the quality of life that Americans enjoy.
I am excited about the future and can only begin to imagine what advances we will see 10 years from now in how we use America’s abundant natural gas.
President and CEO