Full Title: Trends in Natural Gas Production, Consumption, and Prices
Author(s): Committee on Energy and Commerce
Publisher(s): Committee on Energy and Commerce
Publication Date: May 1, 2013
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Description (excerpt):
A decade ago, experts predicted that the United States would become increasingly dependent on natural gas imports to meet domestic demand. In recent years, however, natural gas producers have discovered new ways — using a combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling — to access natural gas trapped in shale formations, such as the Marcellus Shale located underneath Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia. Between 1990 and 2012, natural gas production in the United States increased by 34%. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that under existing policies natural gas production will rise by an additional 39% by 2040, primarily as a result of increased development of shale gas, tight gas, and coal bed methane resources.1 Shale gas production alone is on track to more than double by 2040 (Figure 1).