Interesting Historical Facts

• Natural gas was formed deep under the earth about 100 million years ago.

Source: National Geographic

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• Natural gas arrived in the home during the first century A.D. in Persia. It seeped from the ground and was ignited by lightning, producing an 'eternal flame' that burned day and night. Seeking to take advantage of this continuous heating source - and since pipelines wouldn't come around until the 1800's - the king of Persia built his royal kitchen next to it.

Source: American Gas Association

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• The first record of igniting natural gas was in 1000 B.C. when a fissure created an “eternal flame” in Mount Parnassus, Greece.

Source: International Natural Gas Pipeline Association

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• Rembrandt Peale, a famous portrait painter, founded the first natural gas utility in Baltimore in 1816 after using natural gas as an energy source to light an exhibit at his museum and gallery.

Source: American Oil Gas Historical Society

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• Britain was the first country to commercialize natural gas. In the late 1700s, natural gas was used to illuminate homes and street lamps.

Source: International Natural Gas Pipeline Association

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• In about 500 BC, the Chinese discovered places where natural gas seeped to the surface. They formed crude pipelines from bamboo shoots to transport the gas, using it to boil seawater. This separated the water from the salt, making the water palatable and providing salt to season food.

Source: International Natural Gas Pipeline Association

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• William Hart dug the first natural gas well in the U.S. outside Fredonia, New York, in 1821. The well was about 27 feet deep compared to today's wells which can run more than 30,000 feet deep.

Source: International Natural Gas Pipeline Association

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More Interesting Facts

• North America has more natural gas than Saudi Arabia has oil.

Source: Energy.Gov

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• In 2017, almost 87% of the natural gas delivered to consumers in Florida was used to generate electricity, and natural gas fueled more than two-thirds of Florida's net electricity generation.

Source: Department of Energy

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• Nearly 68 million American homes use natural gas, and 57 million are heated with natural gas. Natural gas utilities provide this efficient energy source that helps customers reduce their total energy consumption, particularly in residential and commercial (R&C) end-use applications.

Source: American Gas Association

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• America’s natural gas utilities add 1 new customer every minute.

Source: American Gas Association

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• America’s natural gas utilities install 2 miles of pipeline every hour.

Source: American Gas Association

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• The energy we produce in America at home benefits our communities, neighborhoods, schools and hospitals. The same air, the same environment. Which means the safety and security of American energy.

Source: Your Energy America

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• Natural gas in its pure form is colorless and odorless. Utility companies add the smell of rotten eggs - a product called mercaptan - to make natural gas detectable.

Source: American Gas Association

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• There are 68 Natural Gas Stations in Florida and nearly 2,000 CNG/LNG stations in the United States.

Source: NVG America

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• There are more than 175,000 NGVs on U.S. roads today and more than 23 million worldwide.

Source: NVG America

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There are more than 1,600 CNG and 140 LNG fueling stations in the U.S., and refueling appliances are available for home use.

Source: NVG America

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• In the U.S., about 50 different manufacturers produce 100 models of light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles and engines.

Source: NVG America

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• Natural gas utilities spend more than $24 billion annually to help enhance the safety of natural gas distribution and transmission systems.

Source: American Gas Association

• The dedicated efforts of natural gas utilities over the past decade have led to an approximately 40 percent decline in serious pipeline incidents throughout the natural gas distribution system.

Source: American Gas Association

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• Safety is the number one priority for America’s natural gas utilities.

Source: American Gas Association

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• America’s natural gas utilities invest $700 every second to help enhance safety of natural gas distribution and transmission pipelines.

Source: American Gas Association

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I Didn’t Know Natural Gas Was Used For That!

• Natural gas has other cool uses ... such as chilling the glycol used to produce ice for hockey and skating rinks. 

Source: American Gas Association

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• Many NFL teams tackle cold weather by warming their fields using tubes heated with natural gas. This lets the turf grow in the winter. 

Source: American Gas Association

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• Museums use natural gas-fueled equipment to help maintain the proper humidity for the conservation of art, fabrics and historic papers.

Source: American Gas Association

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• If all the natural gas pipelines in the U.S. were connected to each other they would stretch to and from the moon almost four times.

Source: American Gas Association

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• The Philadelphia Zoo uses natural gas to cool a greenhouse for a rare bird and one of the most endangered species in the world, the Micronesian Kingfisher. Two-thirds of Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo’s electricity is generated by natural gas and ensures the welfare of its many inhabitants.

Source: American Gas Association

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• Every hour on the hour in the evenings, a volcano erupts in front of the MGM Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. It's fueled by pina colada-scented natural gas. Natural gas is used to manufacture items such as paper, fertilizer, brick, photo film, even medicine.

Source: American Gas Association

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• Natural gas is odorless and is lighter than air.

Source: American Gas Association

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• When natural gas is cooled to 260 degrees below zero, it changes from a gas to a liquid.

Source: International Natural Gas Pipeline Association

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