Premium Essay

Natural Gas Consumtion Patterns

In: Business and Management

Submitted By ron16tnf
Words 784
Pages 4
Natural Gas Consumption Patterns

Natural gas, one of the cleanest, safest, and most useful of all energy sources, is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases that occurs with petroleum deposits that is used as a fuel and in the manufacture of organic compounds.

Between 1997 and 2011, total natural gas consumption in the United States rose 7%. This is modest growth in and of itself but it masks bigger changes in individual sectors. Electric power was the second lowest user of natural gas in 1997 but is now the largest user. This sector also shows the greatest sensitivity to price change than any other sector. As of 2009, natural gas consumption for power surpassed the consumption in the industrial sector. With coal prices rising and natural gas prices declining, dispatching natural gas generators in some parts of the country has become increasingly competitive with operating coal generators. The competition between natural gas and coal fired generators first appeared in the Southeast where it was more expensive to use coal-fired generators due to the higher cost of transporting the coal over long distances.

The industrial sector uses natural gas for processing heat, steam generation, onsite electricity generation, space heating and petrochemical processing. In 1997, the industrial sector was the largest user of natural gas. This sector’s use has steadily declined from 1997 until 2010 where there was an upturn in consumption has occurred between 2010–2011. The reason for this upturn in natural gas usage is due to a severe downturn in the price from 2008-2009. Since 2009 the price has remained steady.

The residential and commercial sectors primarily use natural gas for space heating, water heating and cooking. In these sectors, the most influential short-term factor is weather. The use of

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Chapter 1 Human Geo Notes

...Chapter 1 - Geography Matters: Definitions: * Human geography the study of the spatial organization of human activity and of people’s relationships with their environments * Cartography: the body of practical and theoretical knowledge about making distinctive visual representations of Earth’s surface in the form of maps * Map projection: a systematic rendering on a flat surface of the geographic coordinates of the features found on Earth’s surface * Ethnocentrism: the attitude that a persona’s own race and culture are superior to those of others * Imperialism: the extension of the power of a nation through direct/indirect control of the economic and political life of other territories * Masculinism: the assumption that the world is and should be shaped mainly by men for men * environmental determinism: a doctrine holding that human activities are controlled by the environment * globalization: the increasing interconnectedness of different parts of the world through common processes of economic, environmental political and cultural change * ecumene: the total habitable area of a country. Sine it depends on the prevailing technology, the available ecumene varies over time. Canada’s ecumene is so much less than its total area. * Geodemographic research: investigation using census data and commercial data (i.e. sales data and property records) about populations of small districts to create profiles of those populations for market research ...

Words: 24912 - Pages: 100

Free Essay

Zara 2011

...economic, social and environmental performance Evolution of the main indicators 2011 Turnover (in millions of euros) Sales 2010 13,793 12,527 Results and cash flow (in millions of euros) Operating profit (EBITDA) Operating profit (EBIT) Net income Net income attributable to the parent company Cash flow 3,258 2,522 1,946 1,932 2,613 2,966 2,290 1,741 1,732 2,540 Financial and management ratios ROE ROCE 28% 37% 30% 39% Other relevant information Number of stores Net openings Number of markets with commercial presence Number of employees % men/women Overall energy consumtion (Tj) Number of suppliers Social investment (in millions of euros) 5,527 483 82 109,512 20.5/79.5% 3,381 1,398 14 5,044 437 77 100,138 19.5/80.5% 3,230 1,337 11 Highlights Sales 13,793 12,527 9,435 10,407 11,048 10,000 7,500 15,000 12,500 5,000 2,500 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Sales by geographical Rest of Europe 45% Spain 25% America Asia and the rest of the 12% world 18% Net profit 2,500 1,946 1,741 1,258 1,262 1,322 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Number of employees 0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 79,517 109,512 100,138 92,301 89,112 Inditex´s Annual Report addresses its economic, social and environmental performance for the purposes of achieving the maximum transparency in its relationship with all...

Words: 132690 - Pages: 531