US dry natural gas production continued to increase in 2015
Published by Rosalie Starling,
Editor - Hydrocarbon Engineering
Hydrocarbon Engineering,
US dry natural gas production continued to increase in 2015, reaching 74.1 billion ft3/d. This record high level was a 4.5% (3.2 billion ft3/d) increase over 2014, according to EIA’s Natural Gas Annual, which provides final production data for 2015. The increase in 2015 production levels marked the tenth straight annual increase, with the most recent increase occurring despite natural gas prices at the Louisiana Henry Hub declining more than 40% from an average of US$4.55/million Btu in 2014 to US$2.62/million Btu in 2015.
Production gains were highest in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, due in large part to production from the Marcellus and Utica/Point Pleasant shales. These three states accounted for most of the total increase in 2015. Although annual production in 2015 grew, monthly US natural gas production has since declined in 2016, falling to 71.4 billion ft3/d in July 2016 after reaching a peak of 75 billion ft3/d in April 2015.
Texas remains the largest natural gas producing state, producing 19.4 billion ft3/d in 2015. For the third consecutive year, Pennsylvania saw the largest total gain in annual production, increasing to 13 billion ft3/d in 2015, up 11.4% from 11.6 billion ft3/d in 2014. Ohio saw the largest percentage increase in natural gas production, increasing 49.9%, from 1.3 billion ft3/d in 2014 to 2.6 billion ft3/d in 2015. Louisiana production declined by the largest amount, falling to 4.8 billion ft3/d in 2015, a decrease of 0.5 billion ft3/d, or 10.8%, compared to 2014.
Shale gas wells continue to be the largest source of total natural gas production. According to the Natural Gas Annual, gross withdrawals from shale gas wells – which, unlike dry natural gas production, include all compounds extracted at the wellhead – increased from 38.3 billion ft3/d in 2014 to 42.4 billion ft3/d in 2015, representing 47% of total natural gas production. This increase in production occurred despite declines in natural gas prices.
Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/19122016/us-dry-natural-gas-production-continued-to-increase-in-2015/
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