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1000 BCE
Natural gas is first sighted
Natural Gas was first sighted in 1000BCE in Ancient Greece. The gas would leak out of fissures in the ground and sometimes lightning would strike these fissures and a fire would come up from the ground. The Greeks were marvelled and confused at these fires. The most famous one was on top of Mount Parnassus where a herdsman discovered one of these fires. He decided it was a sign from the gods and built a temple on the fissure. This temple became known as the Oracle of Delphi. -
Period: 1000 BCE to
Natural Gas
Natural Gas comes from dead plants and animals that existed hundreds of millions of years ago that were buried in the ground. The organisms decompose into thick layers of soil and mud, which hardened into rock. Centuries of heat and pressure on this rock turned it into coal,oil, and gas. Better known as fossil fuels. Once a natural gas batch has been located a pipe drills deep in the ground and extracts the gas through the pipe. -
500 BCE
Natural Gas is first used
Around 500BCE the ancient chinese discovered and found use of natural gas. They found that there was a large amount of hot gas coming up through a crack and they found that the gas was coming from an organic rock after they had dug down enough with only their hands and shovels. They collected this rock and burned it to separate salt from sea water. Later they invented more advanced ways of getting the natural gas. -
Natural Gas is first identified
Natural Gas was first identified in 1626 CE by some French explorers. They saw native americans lighting and using natural gas from cracks in the ground around Lake Erie which is located on the border of America and Canada. The French brought it back to Europe and introduced it. Thats when the use of natural Gas became well known. -
George Washington discovers gas springs
In 1770 George Washington discovered various burning gas spring in the Appalachian Mountains. This is a major event because this discovery led on to the first gas powered streetlamps in the 1800s. -
First Successful Well
In 1821 William Hart built the first successful well to extract natural gas in Fredonia, New York. Once a natural gas area has been located he built a big wooden structure that scooped the dirt out to get to the Natural Gas. He went on to found the first gas company, Fredonia Gas Light Company. -
Bunsen Burner is invented
At the University of Heidelberg in 1855, Robert Bunsen invented the Bunsen Burner, a special gas burner used to heat up, sterilize or combust different things. He got the idea when streetlamps were introduced that he could use the same thing but for chemistry purposes. When Natural Gas and oxygen is mixed at just the right amount it creates a controlled single open gas flame. -
First Lengthy Pipeline is built
In 1891 the first lengthy pipeline was built. The pipeline was 120 miles long and was used for transporting natural gas straight from wells though the speed and quality of the transportation is poor back then. It started in the city of Indiana and finished in Chicago. -
Mercapten is added to Natural Gas
In 1937 mercaptan, which is a chemical, was added to natural gas. Mercaptan is a harmless chemical that contains sulfur. The sulfur has a very bad smell that is similar to rotten eggs. So after the mercaptan is added to the natural gas, the gas could easily be detected if there were a leak because of the smell. -
Use of Natural Gas grew
From the 1940s to the 1960s the need of natural Gas pipelines grew by 50 times in the U.S which led to a rise in the natural gas industry. Now the pipelines didn’t only go from city to city, but into every house in the city. -
Most amount of natural gas used
In 1973 the use of natural gas reached a record high of 21.7 trillion cubic ft in America before now. The consumption of natural gas was faster than the production. Though after this the use of natural gas plummeted down a heap. -
Use of natural gas gets low
After years of decline the use of natural gas reached an all time low in 2003 at 124 thousand cubic ft of natural gas consumption. The average natural Gas well only produced 29% of what it used to in 1971. -
Explosion of Deepwater Horizon
In 2010 an explosion and a fire happened at a deep water drilling rig called Deepwater Horizon off the Gulf of Mexico. It had killed 11 men who had been drilling exploratory and destroyed the unfinished production of natural gas. This caused oil to seep into the ocean for months.
