NATURAL GAS


By E. B. SWANSON



 The decline in the marketed production of natural gas, which
began in 1931 after a decade of steady expansion, was continued in
1932, when, according to estimates, 1,518,000,000,000 cubic feet,
valued at $357,000,000, were used or sold. Compared with 1931 the
1932 figures represent a decline of 10 percent in volume and 9 percent
in value.
 The demand for natural gas is divided into that sold for industrial and
domestic fuel needs, that consumed as fuel directly in oil and gas operations,
and that used in the manufacture of carbon black. The domestic and commercial
market normally consumes slightly more than 20 percent of the national total,
while industrial requirements (apart from those of the oil industry) take
nearly 30 percent of the total. The requirements of the oil industry for
natural gas as a fuel at refineries and gasoline plants and for drffling
and other field purposes comprise about 40 percent of the total, and the
remaining 10 percent is used as raw material in the manufacture of carbon
black.
 With industrial markets comprising approximately 80 percent of the demand
for natural gas, fluctuations in industrial activity are reflected promptly
by corresponding variations in demand. Because of its large share of the
total demand, the oil industry undoubtedly influences the demand for natural
gas more than do any of the other factors. The magnitude of the fluctuations
in the larger items consequently tends to obscure the relative steadiness
of the annual demand for natural gas to meet domestic needs in heating and
cooking.
 From data on natural-gas demand in 1932 it appears that gas sales for domestic
and commercial purposes, while slightly lower than in 1931, held relatively
close to the preceding levels, particularly during the closing months of
the year. Some indication of the decline in industrial demand, on the other
hand, is found in the records of natural-gas consumption in the generation
of electricity at central power plants. Natural-gas consumption for this
purpose during 1932, according to the United States Geological Survey, totaled
107,875,000,000 cubic feet, a decline of 22.6 percent from the 139,328,-
000,000 cubic feet recorded for 1931.
 A somewhat similar decline was recorded in the carbon-black mdustry; the
quantity of gas burned during 1932 amounted to 168,237,000,000 cubic feet,
a decline of 12 percent from the 1931 consumption of 195,396,000,000 cubic
feet.
 The decline in demand, particularly for industrial purposes, retarded developments
in a number of States and, in others, resulted in a reduction of output.
The effect of the lowered demand was felt
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