The Boeing Company (BA)’s Big Day and the Spread of Nat-Gas Energy

Piping in an energy-rich future
The first recorded use of natural-gas pipelines occurred on Aug. 1, 1872. That day, a 5-mile-long wrought-iron pipe began delivering natural gas from a well 5 miles northeast of Titusville, Penn., to more than 250 customers of the Keystone Gas and Water in the city. The well from which the gas came was called “the most powerful and voluminous … on record,” and soon its hefty production combined with Titusville residents’ demands to snake a second, larger pipeline along the same route. Natural gas soon became a popular fuel for both residential heating needs and for a variety of industrial processes, including glassmaking and steel production, both of which were important to nearby Pittsburg’s economic health.

Today, a wide-ranging natural-gas pipeline system is the vital link between production and supply for nearly all of the American populace. There are more than 305,000 miles of interstate and intrastate natural-gas pipelines in the United States, with more than 11,000 delivery points and 400 underground storage facilities ready to accept natural gas. Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI) is by far the largest pipeline-owning company in the country. With more than 70,000 miles of pipelines connected to every major nat-gas-producing region in the country, Kinder Morgan alone accounts for nearly a quarter of all the pipelines in the U.S.

The article Boeing’s Big Day and the Spread of Nat-Gas Energy originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Alex Planes.

Fool contributor Alex Planes holds no financial position in any company mentioned here. Add him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter @TMFBiggles for more insight into markets, history, and technology.The Motley Fool recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of Kinder Morgan.

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