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EIA: industrial natural gas consumption expected to increase

Published by , Editorial Assistant
Hydrocarbon Engineering,


The EIA forecasts that US industrial natural gas consumption will increase by 3% in 2022, based on the December Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), after increasing by 2% in 2021. Industrial use of natural gas is set to average more than 23 billion ft3/d in 2022, above the pre-pandemic peak in 2019. Industrial natural gas consumption will account for about 26% of total US natural gas consumption in 2022.

Industrial sector natural gas consumption reflects less seasonal variability than natural gas consumption in the residential, commercial, and electricity sectors. Winter is the peak season for industrial natural gas usage in the United States because of dual space-heat and process requirements.

Much of the 2022 increase comes from the chemicals subsector and the other manufacturing subsector. The chemicals subsector, the largest natural gas consumer in the industrial sector, accounts for 29% of the total. This subsector uses natural gas to create heat, generate electricity, and serve as a feedstock to produce methanol, fertilizer, and hydrogen. Natural gas used to produce fertilizer is one of the largest chemical feedstocks.

Another major use for natural gas as feedstock is for the production of methanol (CH3OH), a natural gas-derived substance that is widely used as a precursor for chemical derivatives. In recent years, the US added significant methanol production capacity, particularly in Texas and Louisiana. US methanol production capacity grew in both 2021 and 2022, and increased throughput accounted for some of the increased industrial consumption.

Crude oil refineries are also an important natural gas consumer, accounting for about 14% of all industrial natural gas consumption in 2021. US natural gas consumption by refineries grew consistently from 2015 through 2021, driven by Gulf Coast refineries.

The EIA expects a 4% decrease in natural gas consumption in the industrial sector in 2023, driven by a decline in the manufacturing production index (especially non-metallic minerals and paper and pulp industries) as well as high natural gas prices. Natural gas usage for fertilizer feedstock remained relatively flat in 2021, and we expect it will continue to remain flat in 2022 and 2023.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/23122022/eia-industrial-natural-gas-consumption-expected-to-increase/

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