Good News: The U.S. Remains The Largest Natural Gas Producer in the World

In spite of the war on fossil fuels

Despite the war on fossil fuels and the U.S. energy industry, there is good news. U.S. natural gas production is on track to hit an all-time high of over 100 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd) by the end of this year, according to an analysis by Rystad Energy.

The United States surpassed Russia to become the world’s largest producer of natural gas in 2011 and then Saudi Arabia in 2018 to become the largest producer of petroleum. Despite declining oil and gas production in 2020 due to Covid-related demand declines, U.S. natural gas production has rebounded, and the U.S. retains its position as the world’s largest oil and natural gas producer.

The substantial increase in natural gas production is coming from the natural gas shale resources in the Marcellus, Appalachia, Utica, and Haynesville basins, as well as the associated natural gas production from the Permian Basin in West Texas.

The graphic above highlights that U.S. natural gas production has been growing much faster than the world’s second-largest producer, Russia, since 2011. The growth in U.S. production has accelerated in recent years while Russia’s production has flattened. It is also interesting to note that the growth in U.S. natural gas production surpasses the official growth expectations of the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The graphic also shows the scale of the natural gas production from these U.S. shale regions. If it were a standalone country, the Appalachian basin would be the third largest natural gas producer globally, with 34 Bcfd, behind only the total U.S. and Russia. The Haynesville Shale is expected to produce 18 Bcfd, surpassing the total from major gas player Qatar and closing in on China and Canada. Given the headwinds of the political war on fossil fuels and ESG investing that has rerouted investment capital away from U.S. fossil fuel companies, this is an astounding feat.

The continued vitality of the U.S. natural gas industry is excellent news for U.S. consumers and the world’s economies which will benefit from growing U.S. natural gas supplies when Russia is cutting natural gas deliveries to Ukraine, Germany, and Europe. The U.S. has committed to exporting as much liquified natural gas (LNG) as possible to help.