Natural gas pipeline system in the United States

The first natural gas sold in the U.S. was in Fredonia, New York in 1825, by William Hart. It was built to pipe the gas from the well to nearby shops, Hart improvised a gasometer at the well site and laid pipe to the properties of his first customers.[5][6] Hart was later consulted to develop a gas lighting system for the Barcelona Lighthouse in 1829.[7] These early pipelines (no longer in use) were made of pine logs.[8]

Meanwhile, manufactured gas was more commonly used than natural gas in the early 19th century, first introduced in Baltimore in 1816 with underground pipes laid starting in 1851.[6] Gas plants could be sited within cities, and many major U.S. cities such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco had gas distribution lines for manufactured gas by the 1870s.[9]

The first major U.S. city to pipe in natural gas was Pittsburgh, in 1883, sold by Penn Fuel Gas Company from a well twenty miles from the city, and transported via a wrought-iron pipe 5 5/8 inch in diameter.[9][10] This pipeline to Pittsburgh was the first use a telescoping design with narrower pipeline at the well site and widening widths as it entered the city as a means to control the pressure inside the line.[10]

Discovery of huge oil and gas fields in the Southwest US, combined with pipeline engineering advancements and national market demand ultimately led to the development of long-distance, interstate pipelines in 1920s and 1930s.[10] Until the passage of the Natural Gas Act of 1938, pipelines were regulated only by states; the Act gave federal oversight to the transportation and sale of natural gas and required approval by the Federal Power Commission for new interstate lines.[9]

Just after World War II, demand for natural gas increased, and so did the development of pipelines to new markets on the West Coast in California and in the Southeastern states.[10] About half of today's existing natural gas pipelines were built in the 1950s and 1960s during this postwar boom.[11]

In 1885, Solomon Dresser patented a new coupling that was an important advancement in engineering pipeline, making it possible to assemble longer, less leaky pipes that were easier to screw together.[9]

Compressors, more commonly adopted after 1910, began to be used to control the pressure within natural gas pipelines.[12]

Pipeline laid before the 1950s did not have technology for inspecting buried lines for erosion or corrosion; starting that decade, most pipeline operators began using pigging systems as well as external pipe coating to protect pipes from decay and detect defects.[13]

Steel has been used in many pipeline projects since the 1950s, as well as plastic beginning in the 1970s.[14]

In 1970, the federal Gas Code (Part 192) was adopted, based on the ASME B31.8 technical standard that was in use by some states to regulate the quality and safety of pipeline construction; pipelines installed before these safety rules were established were granted exceptions.[13]

At the end of 2008, the U.S. had 305,000 miles of natural gas interstate and intrastate transmission pipelines in the lower 48 states.[15] The full pipeline network is an estimated 3 million miles, including transmission lines as well as gathering lines, mains, and service lines to consumers.[11] Transmission pipelines are generally 6 to 48 inches (15 cm to 1.2 m) in diameter, made of strong carbon steel or advanced plastic;[16] the largest diameters are for intrastate and interstate transmission lines, that channel natural gas into smaller mains, and service lines.[17]

Many bare steel pipelines (uncoated) and other aging pipelines like those made of iron or brittle plastics, are being taken out of service and replaced to prevent pipeline failures.[14][18]