Reports: U.S. natural gas production, future supply at record levels
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Two new reports tout the continued resilience and productivity of the nation’s natural gas industry, bolstered in part by the Marcellus shale play in Pennsylvania.
Even at a time of low natural gas prices, which tend to put downward pressure on production, U.S. natural gas production set daily and monthly records in August, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.
Domestic production reached a record level of 92.8 billion cubic feet per day on Aug. 19, according to estimates from IHS Markit cited by EIA.
Natural gas production also set a new monthly record in August, averaging more than 91 billion cubic feet per day for the first time, EIA said.
U.S. natural gas production increased by 8% between August 2018 and August 2019, led by production gains primarily in the Northeast, EIA said.
A separate assessment by the Potential Gas Committee, a group out of Golden, Colo., reported record levels for future supply of natural gas in the U.S.
The committee said the United States has a resource base of recoverable gas of 3,374 trillion cubic feet, not including proved gas reserves of 464 trillion cubic feet.
The 2018 biennial report represents the highest resource evaluation in the committee’s 54-year history, increasing 20% from the 2016 analysis.
Driving much of the increase are the Marcellus and Utica plays in the Appalachian basin, the committee said. The Appalachian region accounts for 41% of total U.S. natural gas resources and saw the largest gains (20%) in the report.
“This seventh consecutive record-high resource evaluation by the PGC confirms that the U.S. has an abundance of natural gas. These resources are present in various reservoirs both onshore and offshore,” said Dr. Alexei V. Milkov, director of the Potential Gas Agency at the Colorado School of Mines, a consultant to the committee.
“Thanks to shale and production from Appalachia, the U.S. has rapidly transformed from a nation increasingly reliant on energy imports to the global leader in natural gas production,” said Marcellus Shale Coalition President David Spigelmyer.