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Strategic natural gas reserve

Strategic natural gas reserve is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Strategic natural gas reserve rather than just read about it. In short: A strategic natural gas reserve is a government funded natural gas storage facility that holds long term stock piles of natural gas as compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas in case of an emergency. After the 2021–2023 global energy crisis, there has been several countries in East Asia and India that have signaled a commitment to building national strategic natural gas reserves such as Japan, Taiwan, South…

Strategic natural gas reserve — main illustration
Strategic natural gas reserve — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Strategic natural gas reserve belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Strategic natural gas reserve to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Strategic natural gas reserve from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A strategic natural gas reserve is a government funded natural gas storage facility that holds long term stock piles of natural gas as compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas in case of an emergency. After the 2021–2023 global energy crisis, there has been several countries in East Asia and India that have signaled a commitment to building national strategic natural gas reserves such as Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and China.

East Asia

East Asia natural gas commodities tracker is the PLATTS index, and reached as high as $70 per million British thermal units in 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine during the Second Cold War.

Taiwan

State owned energy firm CPC Corp holds about 11 days worth of natural gas usage in stockpile and is going to increase it to 14 days.

Japan

Japan is the world's largest importer of LNG and plans to work with the International Energy Agency to help establish and coordinate a strategic natural gas reserve.

South Korea South Korea is the third largest importer of LNG and is building its 6th LNG strategic natural gas reserve facility. It keeps nine days worth of winter usage in strategic storage along with an undisclosed amount of commercial stockpile.

China

State owned CNOOC completed 10-billion-cubic-metres (bcm) of storage in 2023, and plans to have 55-60 bcm by 2025 or 13% of total gas consumption for one year.

India

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board in India is putting together a plan as of July 2023 to build strategic natural gas reserves in either abandoned gas wells and underground storage. They currently have no national natural gas reserves.

United States

As of 2023 there are no national strategic natural gas reserve facilities in the United States. A 2007 study found that as of May 2004, there was roughly 8 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of commercial gas storage capacity in the US, with about 4 Tcf needed to always remain in storage as base gas. Base gas is needed in order to provide enough pressure for gas to be withdrawn on demand. Therefore, total working storage capacity is about 4 Tcf. This is equal to approximately 17% of annual consumption. Most gas storage is in depleted gas or oil fields, with the second largest storage capacity being in aquifers, and the smallest in salt caverns. Depleted gas or oil fields are the cheapest to commission, as they take advantage of existing wells, internal distribution systems, and pipeline connections. They are also widely available.

Europe

The European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson plans to green energy transition Europe to renewable energy instead of a strategic natural gas reserve.

See also Strategic Petroleum Reserve (United States) Strategic petroleum reserve (China) Strategic Petroleum Reserve (India) Global strategic petroleum reserves 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage National Helium Reserve List of countries by natural gas imports

References

Illustrations

Strategic natural gas reserve: Natural gas commercial stockpiles .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}  South Central Region   Pacific Region   Mountain Region   Midwest Region   East Region
Natural gas commercial stockpiles .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}  South Central Region   Pacific Region   Mountain Region   Midwest Region   East Region
Strategic natural gas reserve: Natural gas prices in Europe and United States, 2018–July 2022   National Balancing Point NBP (UK) natural gas prices   Europe TTF natural gas prices   United States Henry Hub natural gas prices
Natural gas prices in Europe and United States, 2018–July 2022   National Balancing Point NBP (UK) natural gas prices   Europe TTF natural gas prices   United States Henry Hub natural gas prices
Strategic natural gas reserve: Nord Stream gas flows[5] * Russia cut the flow of natural gas by more than half in June 2022 because they alleged they could not get a part seized by the Canadian government because of sanctions. Siemens, the producer of the part, denied that this piece was critical for operations.[6] * Russia halted gas flows on 11 July 2022 for annual maintenance for 10 days and resumed partial operations on 21 July.[7] * Russia stopped the flow of natural gas on 31 August 2022 for alleged maintenance for 3 days, but later said they could not provide a timeframe for restarting gas flow. The EU accused Russia of fabricating a false story to justify the cut.[8] X Pipeline was sabotaged on 26 September 2022.
Nord Stream gas flows[5] * Russia cut the flow of natural gas by more than half in June 2022 because they alleged they could not get a part seized by the Canadian government because of sanctions. Siemens, the producer of the part, denied that this piece was critical for operations.[6] * Russia halted gas flows on 11 July 2022 for annual maintenance for 10 days and resumed partial operations on 21 July.[7] * Russia stopped the flow of natural gas on 31 August 2022 for alleged maintenance for 3 days, but later said they could not provide a timeframe for restarting gas flow. The EU accused Russia of fabricating a false story to justify the cut.[8] X Pipeline was sabotaged on 26 September 2022.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Strategic natural gas reserve

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Strategic natural gas reserve claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Strategic natural gas reserve before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Strategic natural gas reserve ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Strategic natural gas reserve

In research
Strategic natural gas reserve appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Strategic natural gas reserve in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Strategic natural gas reserve is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Energy infrastructure in the United States, Energy security, Petroleum economics, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Strategic natural gas reserve outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Strategic natural gas reserve in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Strategic natural gas reserve means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Strategic natural gas reserve out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Strategic natural gas reserve in simple terms?

A strategic natural gas reserve is a government funded natural gas storage facility that holds long term stock piles of natural gas as compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas in case of an emergency. After the 2021–2023 global energy crisis, there has been several countries in East Asia and…

Why does Strategic natural gas reserve matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Strategic natural gas reserve?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Strategic natural gas reserve.

Tags

  • Energy infrastructure in the United States
  • Energy security
  • Petroleum economics
  • Petroleum in the United States
  • Strategic reserves of the United States
  • United States federal energy legislation

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