The Regulation of Natural Gas

Today natural gas is a new giant among our nation's resources.Always of enormous potential, it has risen from relative obscurity to a position of vital importance.A few years ago a driller searched only for oil, and when the well turned out to be a "gasser," it was either capped or the gas permitted to blow into the air 1 Casinghead gas, produced with oil, was piped away from the well and flared.In those years there was little or no market for natural gas.It was almost worthless-an unwanted stepchild in the oil industry.As knowledge of natural gas grew, its many uses and possibilities were realized.The mixtures of hydrocarbons found in natural gas 3 were like magic in the hands of the chemists who transformed them into thousands of different products.The petroleum engineers discovered its value in maintaining pressure in the oil reservoir, and in secondary recovery methods.'Demand for its use by industry and the housewife developed gradually, but since World War II demand has erupted into phenomenal proportions.Production, in order to fulfill this demand, has shown a comparable increase in Texas as demonstrated by the chart 6 on following page.Now only two states, Vermont and Nevada, lack gas facilities, present or proposed.Gas pipeline mileage has increased so rapidly that it exceeds that of the railroadsZ Of the total 8.o18 trillion cubic feet of net production marketed in the United States in 1952, Texas produced 4.304 trillion cubic feet, or 53.7 per cent, of which 2,oo6,463,802 M.C.F. was exported from Texas.8