The carbon and hydrogen in natural gas are thought to have originated from the remains of microscopic marine organisms that were deposited at the bottom of seas and oceans. After having been buried under huge layers of other sediments, the organic material is transformed at high temperature and pressure into crude oil and natural gas. The oil and gas are then squeezed out of the marine shales in which they were deposited, and from there go into porous sedimentary rocks such as sandstones and limestones. This oil and gas migrates upward through the porous rock, as it is less dense than the water which fills the pores. A common dome formed by folded sedimentary rocks is shown in Figure 1.
Natural gas is captured by drilling a hole into the reservoir rock.
Most often, the natural gas is under pressure and will come out of the hole on its own. In some cases, pumps and other more complicated procedures are required to remove the natural gas from the ground. Natural gas is transported from wells to urban centres, where it is used by large pipelines. Such pipelines criss-cross Canada and most of the industrialized world. Use of Natural Gas Natural gas is a very versatile fuel which can be used for space and water heating, process heat for industry, electricity generation, cooking, mechanical power and transportation .