Transmission & Distribution

Pipelines, using pressure from compressors, move the natural gas and oil we drill.

An interesting aspect of natural gas pipelines is the introduction of odorants into the gas system. Natural gas is almost odorless as it comes from the well or processing facility.

Natural gas for homes and businesses has a chemical called a mercaptan added to give it a distinctive odor so that people can easily smell it when its concentration in air reaches 1 percent. Gas and air mixed in this concentration are not hazardous, but a mixture containing 5 percent gas is explosive. The odorant, which smells like rotten eggs, makes natural gas leaks evident before a real hazard exists.