Extraction of natural gas

To come from the depths of the earth to your household, natural gas has to cover a long and demanding route with the beginning being extraction. Only a small amount of natural gas is extracted from within Slovakia yet there are sites where it is found. Just go to the Zahorie region and keep your eyes wide open. But before you go there, we here offer you some basic information on how and from where most natural gas is extracted

Natural gas, just like other fossil fuels, is in underground deposits. It can exist there separately or together with crude oil--in which case it makes a so-called gas cap within the deposit.

Slovakia does not abound with large natural gas deposits and that is why most of our gas is transported here from deposits more than 4,000 kilometres away. Natural gas deposits are not distributed evenly across the globe, with the largest natural gas producers being the USA, Canada and Russia; the latter is the source of most of the natural gas used in Slovakia. Domestic natural gas extraction by NAFTA, a.s. Company, with a head office in Gbely, provides about 5% of the total gas consumption in Slovakia.

The quality of extracted natural gas only rarely permits its commercial use without further processing. Extracted natural gas usually contains many substances that can have an adverse effect on the distribution systems. Water, sulphur-containing substances and carbon dioxide may cause corrosion and dust particles and this unprocessed gas can cause problems with compressors and regulation stations. Where natural gas is found together with crude oil, the extracted natural gas must first be separated from liquid hydrocarbons.