Product

Wet Gas is a naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbon compounds in which methane (CH₄) is the dominant component, but which contains an appreciable proportion of heavier hydrocarbons — principally ethane (C₂H₆), propane (C₃H₈), butane (C₄H₁₀), and pentanes (C₅H₁₂) — as well as non-hydrocarbon impurities such as water vapor, CO₂, H₂S, and nitrogen.

Wet gas typically contains less than 85% methane by volume, with the remaining fraction comprising Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) that are condensable at surface conditions of temperature and pressure. In the United States, a gas is formally classified as wet if it contains more than 0.1 gallon of condensables per 1,000 cubic feet of produced gas. Producing gas-to-condensate ratios are typically above 10,000 v/v (50,000 scf/STB), distinguishing wet gas from both dry gas (GOR > 100,000 scf/STB) and gas condensate.

In the reservoir, wet gas exists entirely in the gaseous phase and does not drop out condensate during depletion; however, separator conditions at the surface fall within the phase envelope, yielding liquid condensate and NGLs upon production. The condensate produced is typically water-white with a low specific gravity. Wet gas reservoirs are commonly produced by simple blow-down, similar to dry gas reservoirs.​

After field processing, the extracted NGLs — ethane, propane, butane, and natural gasoline — are separated and marketed independently as petrochemical feedstocks, LPG, or gasoline blending components, while the residual lean gas (essentially dry gas) is delivered to the consumer pipeline grid.

References

1. U.S. Energy Information Administration (eia). Glossary: Wet natural gas (Accessed Mar 22, 2026)
2. Britannica. wet gas (Page version: Nov 30, 2017)
3. ScienceDirect. WetGas (Accessed Mar 22, 2026)
4. Schlumberger Limited (slb). Energy Glossary: wet gas (Accessed Mar 22, 2026)
5. Welker. Wet Natural Gas (Accessed Mar 22, 2026)
6. UtilitySmarts (Dec 4, 2021). What Is Wet Natural Gas?