EIA: US natgas production and demand will reach record highs by 2025
The U.S. Energy Information Administration released its Short-Term Energy Outlook Tuesday, predicting that both the U.S. Natural Gas output and demand would reach record highs by 2025.
EIA's projected dry gas production is expected to rise from 103.1 billion cubic feet per day in 2024, to 104.6 bcfd by 2025, and then 107.3 bcfd by 2026. This compares to a record-breaking 103.6 bcfd for 2023.
The agency projected that domestic gas consumption will rise from 90.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2024, to 90.7 in 2025 and then ease back to 90.2-bcfd by 2026.
If the forecast is correct, the demand for fuel will decline in 2026 for the first time since 2020, when the COVID-19 epidemic reduced usage.
The EIA forecasts of 104,5 bcfd in supply and 90,6 bcfd in demand for January were lower than the latest projections.
The agency predicted that average U.S. LNG exports will reach 14.0 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2025, and 16.2 billion cubic feet per day in 2026. This is up from the record 12.0 billion cubic foot per days in 2024.
The agency predicted that as renewable energy sources replace coal-fired power plants, U.S. coal output would drop from 511.7 million short tonnes in 2024, to 478.3 millions tons in 2020, the lowest level since 1963, then 476.3 million in 2026, the lowest level since 1962.
The EIA predicted that carbon dioxide (CO2) emission from fossil fuels will rise from a low of 4.764 metric tonnes in 2024, to 4.826 metric tonnes in 2025 before decreasing to 4.789 metric tonnes in 2026 due to the decline in coal and gas usage. (Reporting and editing by Richard Chang, Nia Williams, and Scott DiSavino)
(source: Reuters)
