EIA reports US natural gas production remained flat in 2024
Published by Oliver Kleinschmidt,
Assistant Editor
Hydrocarbon Engineering,
US marketed natural gas production remained relatively flat in 2024, growing by less than 0.4 billion ft3/d compared with 2023 to average 113 billion ft3/d, according to the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Natural Gas Monthly.
Production growth in the Permian was offset by declining production in the Haynesville and relatively flat production in Appalachia.
The EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook breaks out US Lower 48 (L48) marketed natural gas production data for the Appalachia, Bakken, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, and Permian regions and also includes Alaska and Gulf of America production data. The Appalachia, Permian, and Haynesville regions produce the most, accounting for around two-thirds of total US natural gas production combined.
In 2024, more natural gas was produced in the Appalachia region of the Northeast than in any other US region, accounting for 31%, or 35.6 billion ft3/d, of marketed natural gas production. Production growth in the Appalachia region has been slowing in recent years because of limited pipeline takeaway capacity to transport natural gas to demand markets. In 2024, Appalachian production rose slightly by 0.1% (0.50 million ft3/d) and in 2023 Appalachian production grew by 0.9 billion ft3/d. Historically low Henry Hub prices contributed to the muted growth in Appalachia in 2024. The Henry Hub spot price averaged US$2.21 per million Btu in 2024, the lowest average annual Henry Hub price ever reported and 16% lower than the 2023 annual average.
The Permian region in Texas and New Mexico accounted for 22% of the marketed natural gas production in the US in 2024 and accounted for almost all the growth in US production. In 2024, marketed natural gas production in the Permian rose by 12%, or 2.7 billion ft3/d, to average 25.4 billion ft3/d.
In the Permian region, growth in natural gas production is primarily the result of associated gas produced during oil production. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices averaged US$77/bbl in 2024, high enough to support oil-directed drilling in the Permian region. The average breakeven price for new wells ranged between US$62/bbl and US$64/bbl in the Permian Midland Basin and the Permian Delaware Basin, two of the largest basins in the Permian, according to data from a Dallas Fed Energy survey.
In 2024, production in the Haynesville region, which spans Louisiana and Texas, averaged 14.6 billion ft3/d, 11% less than the 2023 annual average. Natural gas production in the Haynesville declined last year as producers decreased drilling activity because of historically low natural gas prices. Producers averaged 37 active rigs per month in the Haynesville in 2024, compared with 57 active rigs in 2023. The higher relative cost to produce natural gas in the Haynesville region played a role in reducing rig activity and in the decline in average annual production in 2024 compared with 2023.
Natural gas production costs depend on many factors, including the cost of drilling wells. The Haynesville formation is between 10 500 ft to 13 500 ft deep, which is much deeper than other formations. By comparison, wells in the Marcellus in the Appalachia region are on average 4000 ft to 8500 ft deep. Because drilling deeper wells in the Haynesville is more expensive than drilling wells in the Marcellus and other shale plays, natural gas prices have to be relatively higher to make drilling economical.
Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/23042025/eia-reports-us-natural-gas-production-remained-flat-in-2024/
You might also like
Hydrocarbon Engineering Podcast
Mike Logue, Owens Corning Global Business Director – Mechanical Insulation, delves into factors that can support the performance, safety and longevity of insulating systems installed in hydrocarbon processing environments, including cryogenic facilities.
Woodside signs gas supply agreement for Louisiana LNG
Woodside has signed an agreement with bp for the integrated energy major to supply natural gas to the Louisiana LNG project.
