Pipelines 101

Natural Gas·it heats our water, cooks our food and warms our homes. It fuels our factories, powers some of our transportation and even generates the electricity that we use every day. We depend on it so much that we take it for granted.

Other than an occasional pipeline marker along a roadway, the evidence of the natural gas industry is largely unseen. Where does natural gas come from? How is it transported? What does industry do to protect this valuable resource and to ensure public safety?

The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) has developed this public education website to provide key information about the industry in simple, easy-to-understand terms. This information covers activities from the wellhead to design, construction and operation of a natural gas pipeline system.

INGAA has also developed an Interstate Pipeline Desk Book. In a single, easy-to-use volume, the Desk Book captures a wealth of background information about the interstate natural gas pipeline industry in the United States. The Desk Book spans many topics, including the evolution of natural gas regulation, current challenges facing the industry, the legal and regulatory framework under which pipelines operate, and new and evolving issues such as post-9/11 security and the potential for the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. The volume also provides background on the construction and operation of natural gas transmission lines and an extensive glossary of energy industry terminology.