Grade: B.    Reason: Images aren't in this file yet, but will be added. May require DATA UPDATE to 2008 data, must get PERMISSION for gasification plant photo
line graph showing U.S. Natural Gas Consumption, Production, and Net Imports, 1949-2008
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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. In 2008, production stood at 20.6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), net imports at 3.0 Tcf, and consumption at 23.2 Tcf.

Share of 2007 natural gas production:

  • Texas (30%)
  • Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico (14%)
  • Wyoming (10%)
  • Oklahoma (9%)
  • New Mexico (8%)

In 2008, 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.

Marketed Production of Natural Gas in the United States and the Gulf of Mexico, 2007
Marketed Production of Natural Gas in the United States and the Gulf of Mexico, 2007
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Data for this figure

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 4,000 oil and gas platforms producing 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.

Natural Gas Is Stored Underground

There were about 400 active underground storage fields (salt fields, aquifers, or depleted fields) in the United States during 2008. Natural gas is injected into these fields primarily during April through October and withdrawn primarily from November through March during the peak heating season. The volume of working (withdrawable) gas in storage during 2008 ranged from 1.2 trillion cubic feet at the end of March to 3.4 trillion cubic feet at the end of October.

U.S. Underground Natural Gas Storage Facilities, Close of 2007
map showing U.S. Underground Natural Gas Storage Facilities, Close of 2007
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Aerial View of the Great Plains Synfuels Plant in Central North Dakota
Aerial View of the Great Plains Synfuels Plant in Central North Dakota

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Copyrighted)

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 55 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 2008. 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.

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.