The Contribution of Shale Gas to Future U.S. Production: A View of the Resource Base

Oil & Natural Gas / Gas Shales / Exploration

Date posted: 08/27/09

Projections published in 2008 by the United States government indicated that annual U.S. gas demand could increase from the current 22 Tcf (trillion cubic feet) to 24 Tcf by the year 2016 and then decline to 23 Tcf by 2030. This would occur during a period of declining Canadian gas imports and increasing U.S. reliance on LNG imports, a commodity only available in a highly competitive market. To put these numbers into perspective, a 1 Tcf/year increase is a challenge: domestic gas production was flat for nine years prior to 2006. Gas production then increased 9% from 1Q 2007 to 1Q 2008, with Texas (i.e., the Barnett Shale) providing most of this growth.