Basic information about natural gas

Natural gas is something that we take for granted and it only rarely occurs that we think about it in more detail. Cross your heart, do you know what natural gas really is? How it gets to your household? How natural gas is processed and stored? Do you know all of its advantages? Do you know how to use it most effectively? For those of you who are looking for answers to these and similar questions, the following information is for you.

What is natural gas and what does it consist of?

Natural gas is a naturally flammable gas and an important gaseous fossil fuel. It is a mixture of hydrocarbons of which 93% to 99%, by volume, is methane. In addition to methane it also contains propane, butane, and other substances. It is lighter than air, has no colour, taste nor smell and for that reason it is odorized (an odorant – an odorous substance is added) during its processing to make it identifiable in the air. It is also the basic material for production of a wide variety of synthetic polymers and other chemical products such as fertilizers. If you want to know more about natural gas, its composition, features, calorific value or definition of the combustion heat of natural gas, click here

How is natural gas extracted?

Natural gas was the last of the fossil fuels to be discovered and just like coal and crude oil it originates from remains of fossil plants and trees over the course of millions of years. It resides in underground deposits either alone or together with crude oil. More information about natural gas extraction can be found in the part Extraction.

How does natural gas get to us?

Slovakia does not have its own large natural gas deposits and that’s why most of our gas is imported from deposits more than 4,000 kilometres away. In this way the majority of Slovakia’s population can use natural gas for everyday cooking, hot water or heating in their homes – non-stop 24 hours a day. Making gas available to you when you need it is the role of two SPP subsidiaries: eustream, a.s. – the transmission system operator and SPP - distribúcia, a.s. – the distribution system operator. You can read more about how gas travels to your home in the part Gas transmission and distribution.

Transport using natural gas – environmentally-friendly propulsion for motor vehicles

SPP has been a long-time supporter of using natural gas for propulsion of vehicles. Natural gas has a big advantage in comparison to other fossil fuels because its combustion generates the least amount of harmful substances with comparable energy effectiveness. These characteristics make it valuable, particularly as compressed natural gas used by the automobile industry (CNG - Compressed Natural Gas). When compressed natural gas is used to power vehicles no mechanical impurities are produced, there is no smell, there are 60-80% fewer gaseous emissions, the engines run more quietly and have longer lives. More about CNG-using transport vehicles.

What are the advantages of natural gas?

Using natural gas is comfortable and cost-effective and that’s the reason why it is used by more than 94% of the population of Slovakia. Natural gas is also considered a fuel for the future as its use is reliable, comfortable, fast and efficient and, on top of all of that, it is environmentally-friendly. The Advantages of natural.

Historical milestones of natural gas

The history of the Slovakian gas industry goes back more than 150 years when the first utility was established in Bratislava, mainly to bring light to the city through gas lamps. Gasification of Slovakia has gone a long way since then with construction of a distribution system, gas pipelines across the entire territory of Slovakia, to construction of storage tanks and compressor stations and now to promotion and use of vehicles propelled with natural gas. The entire history of the gas industry in Slovakia can be explored at the Slovak Gas Museum. If you are interested in having the history of natural gas in Slovakia revealed, see the part on the History and origin of natural gas.