Natural Gas Facts
Get all the facts and statistics about the nation's fastest growing energy source. Find out about supply, demand, uses and future resources on this one page factsheet.

What's the Current Natural Gas Situation?
Natural gas provides approximately a quarter of the nation’s total energy supply, and according to the EIA Annual Energy Review 2006, between 1985 and 2005, natural gas consumption increased about 30%, from 17 Tcf to 22 Tcf. During this same period however, supply has stagnated. Since 1996, domestic production of natural gas has grown at an annual rate of well below one percent. This slow increase is due to a number of factors, a primary one being that existing and producing gas fields in the U.S. are slowly being tapped out. In order to maintain production, domestic producers are drilling more wells and extracting gas more efficiently from existing wells.

Understanding Natural Gas Markets ( PDF)
Natural gas is an attractive fuel because it is clean-burning and efficient. The importance of natural gas as an energy source for the United States has grown since the mid-1990. For the last five to seven years, the price of natural gas has been trending upward in response to the interaction of supply and increased demand. In a project commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute, Lexecon, a unit of business consultancy FTI, has put together a primer called "Understanding Natural Gas Markets" that explains this interaction of market forces.

Meeting Future Natural Gas Needs
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that consumption of natural gas will increase by over twenty percent between now and 2030 (EIA Annual Energy outlook 2006). Demand will grow because natural gas is essential to our economy and our lives.

The Price of Natural Gas
Natural gas has become extremely popular as a major source of energy in the U.S., for both consumers and industry, in part because it burns cleanly. Many utilities, for example, have shifted away from coal or oil to natural gas to produce electricity. As a result, demand for natural gas is expected to rise by more than 20 percent between now and 2030 (EIA Annual Energy outlook 2006).

Offshore Natural Gas Access
The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) contains abundant natural gas resources, but these supplies have been placed "off limits." Failure to provide access to these resources comes at a high price in terms of less economic growth and job losses.

Rocky Mountain States Natural Gas Resource Potential and Prerequisites to Expanded Production ( PDF)
Growing demand for clean-burning natural gas, declining production in mature geologic basins are concerns about energy security illuminate the importance of the Rocky Mountain States as a major producing region. The potential supply of natural gas from the Rocky Mountain states is huge.

Balancing Natural Gas Policy: Fueling the Demands of a Growing Economy
On September 25, 2003, the National Petroleum Council (NPC) released the findings of its study, "Balancing Natural Gas Policy" . The study was conducted at the request of the U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham to examine what actions can be taken by industry and government to ensure adequate and reliable supplies of energy for American consumers.

How to Ensure Adequate Future Supplies
While conservation and efficiency are important, the supply side of the equation has been ignored for too long. Opening new areas for responsible energy development is essential to having adequate future supplies of clean-burning natural gas.

Conservation, Improved Efficiency: Sensible Actions to Help Use Natural Gas Wisely
Conservation and efficient natural gas use must be part of a national effort to balance natural gas supply and demand, especially in the short term. Conservation and improved efficiency alone make natural gas more affordable, but these actions are crucial actions that we can all undertake.

Liquefied Natural Gas - A Cool Source of Energy
The need for more natural gas has increased interest liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a way to help meet rising demand. LNG can help diversify supplies and allow us to tap into global supplies.