It’s the most expensive NGL, accounting for more than 25% of the value of a weighted average barrel. It is the only NGL that does not require storage or transportation under pressure. And it’s the most misunderstood of the NGLs, going by different names depending on the market and geography, with a chameleon-like characteristic that allows it to be transformed into various products. And to further complicate matters, other petroleum liquids are similar to natural gasoline, but not identical. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll delve into the mysteries of natural gasoline and explore what makes it such a crucial component of the hydrocarbon landscape.
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Like all the NGLs, U.S. natural gasoline production has increased dramatically since the onset of the Shale Revolution. As shown in Figure 1 below, before shale, natural gasoline production from gas processing plants (the only source of “real” natural gasoline) was less than 300 Mb/d. Over the past decade, volumes have tripled, now approaching 900 Mb/d. As production volumes ramped up, new markets for the product emerged, a topic we’ll revisit in a moment. But first, what is natural gasoline in the first place? What makes it natural? And is it really gasoline?
Figure 1: Gas Plant Production of Natural Gasoline. Source: EIA
The name — natural gasoline — comes from its source and its qualities. It is “natural” because it comes from natural gas, not a refinery. And it is “gasoline” because the product is similar to very low-quality motor gasoline. It has an API gravity of around 80 degrees, making it very light with low density. (For more on API gravity, see Don’t Let Your Crude Oils Grow Up To Be Condensates). Natural gasoline is the heaviest product in the mixed NGL stream produced at a natural gas processing plant and is the heaviest cut from an NGL fractionator. Chemically, it is composed mostly of pentanes, a compound with five carbon atoms (C5). The stream also includes smaller amounts of heavier molecules including hexanes, heptanes and higher (C6, C7, C8). The molecules are nearly all paraffinic, meaning they have as many hydrogen molecules as possible (also known as saturated hydrocarbons).
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About the song
“(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” was written by Gerry Goffin, Carole King and Jerry Wexler and appears as the fifth song on side one of Aretha Franklin’s 12th studio album, Lady Soul. After driving by Carole King on a New York street, producer Jerry Wexler shouted out to King that he needed a song about a “natural woman” for Aretha Franklin's next album. King and her songwriting partner, Gerry Goffin, wrote the song that night and gave Wexler a co-songwriting credit for the inspiration. Released as a single in September 1967, it went to #2 on the Billboard Hot R&B and #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles charts. The song has been covered by many artists, including co-writer Carole King, Mary J. Blige, and Celine Dion. Aretha Franklin performed the song at 2015 Kennedy Center Honors, where Carole King was an award recipient. Personnel on the record were: Aretha Franklin (lead vocals), Spooner Oldham (piano), Tommy Cogbill (bass), Eric Gale (guitar), Gene Chrisman (drums), The Sweet Inspirations (backing vocals), and Ralph Burns (string arrangements).
Lady Soul was recorded between February and December 1967 at Fame Studios in Memphis with Jerry Wexler producing. The album was released in January 1968 and went to #1 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Three singles were released from the LP.
Aretha Franklin was an American singer, songwriter and pianist known worldwide as the “Queen of Soul.” Already a noted gospel singer as a teen at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit (led by her father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin), she was signed as a recording artist for Columbia Records at the age of 18. After modest record sales with Columbia, she signed with Atlantic Records in 1966 and her records started entering the charts. She released 38 studio albums, six live albums, and 131 singles and has sold over 75 million records worldwide. Franklin has a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Grammy Legend Award and has been awarded a National Medal of Arts, Kennedy Center Honors and a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation. She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, and the U.K. Music Hall of Fame. Franklin died at her home in Detroit in August 2018 at the age of 76.
