NEWTOWN, Conn. - Did you know that the United States is now the "Saudi Arabia" of natural gas production, with production and distribution increasing steadily?

Over the past decade, the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has provided access to large volumes of oil and natural gas that were previously uneconomic to produce from low permeability geological formations composed of shale, sandstone, and carbonate (e.g., limestone). In keeping with the growth in production, U.S. natural gas pipelines are expanding steadily and now represent a highly integrated transmission and distribution grid that can transport natural gas to and from nearly any location in the lower 48 states. Here are some statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Administration that may astound you:

-- More than 210 natural gas pipeline systems.

-- 305,000 miles of interstate and intrastate transmission pipelines

-- More than 1,400 compressor stations

-- More than 11,000 delivery points, 5,000 receipt points, and 1,400 interconnection points that provide for the transfer of natural gas throughout the United States.

-- 24 hubs or market centers that provide additional interconnections

-- 400 underground natural gas storage facilities

-- 49 locations where natural gas can be imported/exported via pipelines

-- 8 LNG (liquefied natural gas) import facilities and 100 LNG peaking facilities . The following link demonstrates the Interstate and Intrastate pipelines crisscrossing the U.S. , as well as the compressor stations for pumping the gas. While many stations still employ diesels for this function, gas turbines, fired directly from the pipeline gas, have proven to be cost effective investments and are rapidly moving to the forefront.

http://www.eia.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/analysis_publications/ngpipeline/compressorMap.html

Growing Aftermarket Potential - The many thousands of gas turbines which are employed in pumping and auxiliary generation duties at the many compressor stations represent a large and growing aftermarket for gas turbine parts and serve ice. Many of these units run continuously and some have been running for 20 years or more. Therefore, there is a continuing need for change of bearings, fuel nozzles, fuel controls, and other critical service items.

Forecast International maintains what it considers to be the world's best listing of over 48,000 installed gas turbines worldwide, including those utilized on the pipeline stations for pumping and auxiliary generation. Surprisingly, there is not a single governmental source which catalogs all of the installed gas turbines. Therefore, to keep up with this growing marketplace, our analysts have been laboriously combing through hundreds of Air pollution permits issued by the EPA under Title V of the National Emmissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollution. These permits are issued at five year intervals authorizing the usage of the gas turbines to power compressors and auxiliary generators at the various compressor stations. In recent months our analysts have identified and updated over 2,600, gas turbines running on pipelines in the lower 48 states and Alaska, with more being added daily. This database is available for lease to specially qualified users.

Source: https://www.forecastinternational.com/fistore/prod.cfm?categoryid=101&ProductID=655&l3=10104#.VCAOzBYZKUM
Associated URL: http://www.forecastinternational.com/
Author: W. Schmalzer, Analyst