ABSTRACT
Natural gas, as it is used by consumers, is much different from the natural gas that is brought from underground formations to the wellhead. Although the processing of natural gas is in many respects less complicated than the processing and refining of crude oil, it is equally as necessary before its use by end users. Gas is often referred to as natural gas because it is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixture (which does contain some nonhydrocarbon constituents, which might be labeled as impurities but often find use in other areas of technology). For the most part, natural gas consists mainly of methane, which is the simplest hydrocarbon; nevertheless, processing (purification, refining) is required before transportation to the consumer.
