Most of the Natural Gas Consumed in the United States Comes from Domestic Production
U.S. natural gas production and consumption were nearly in balance through 1986. After that, consumption began to outpace production, and imports of natural gas rose to meet U.S. demand for the fuel. Production increased from 2006 through 2011, when it reached the highest recorded annual total since 1973. The increases in production were the result of more efficient, cost-effective drilling techniques, notably in the production of natural gas from shale formations.
Share of 2011 natural gas marketed production:
- Texas (29%)
- Wyoming (9%)
- Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico (8%)
- Louisiana (13%)
- Oklahoma (8%)
In 2011, 90% of net imports came by pipeline, primarily from Canada, and 10% came by liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers carrying gas from five different countries.
What is the Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico?
Some natural gas and oil wells are drilled into the ocean floor in waters off the coast of the United States. States have jurisdiction over any natural resources within three nautical miles of their coastline, except for Texas and the west coast of Florida where state jurisdiction extends to nine nautical miles. The federal government retains ownership to resources past those limits. There are around 3,400 oil and gas production platforms in federal waters up to roughly 7,500 feet deep and up to 200 miles from shore. Most of them are in the Gulf of Mexico.
What Are Gas Shales?
Shale is a very fine-grained sedimentary rock that is easily broken into thin, parallel layers. Shales can contain a large amount of natural gas, but it's not necessarily mobile. Extensive efforts such as horizontal drilling and creating artificial fractures in the rock are often needed to achieve satisfactory production rates.
Gas shale is one of a number of "unconventional" sources of natural gas; other unconventional sources of natural gas include natural gas produced from coalbeds and from "tight" (impermeable) sandstone or chalk formations.
Source: Modified from U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 0113-01 (Public Domain)
Supplemental Gas Supplies
Supplemental gas supplies include blast furnace gas, refinery gas, propane-air mixtures, and synthetic natural gas (gas made from petroleum hydrocarbons or from coal). These supplemental supplies totaled 60 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 2011. The largest single source of synthetic gas is the Great Plains Synfuels Plant in Beulah, North Dakota, where coal is converted to pipeline-quality gas.
Natural Gas Is Stored Underground
There were about 410 active underground storage fields (salt fields, aquifers, or depleted fields) in the United States during 2011. Natural gas is injected into these fields primarily during April through October and withdrawn primarily from November through March during the peak heating season. As of April 2012, the estimated capacity for peak working gas storage was 4,239 Billion cubic feet.