U.S. shale gas production is on track for its first annual decrease in nearly 25 years, according to the Energy Department’s statistical arm.
Total U.S. shale gas production from January through last month dropped by roughly 1 percent compared to the same time period last year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a research analysis Thursday. The agency attributed the dip in output to low natural gas prices, which prompted production declines in the Haynesville and Utica plays.
Natural gas prices at the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub hit record lows in the first half of 2024, “making drilling natural gas wells less profitable, particularly in the Haynesville,” EIA said.
Production in the Haynesville play, which covers parts of Texas and Louisiana, decreased by 12 percent during the first nine months of the year. The decrease was 10 percent in the Utica play, which crosses through New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
