US Gas Output Down Again in September: EIA
US dry natural gas production fell 5.7% year-on-year in September, the US Energy Information Administration said November 30, marking the fifth consecutive month of declining production compared to year-earlier figures.
Dry natural gas production averaged 89.3bn ft3/day in September, the EIA said in its November Natural Gas Monthly, down from 94.7bn ft3/day in September 2019. Despite the decline, the daily average in September this year was the second highest for the month since the EIA began tracking monthly dry gas production in 1973.
Natural gas consumption, meanwhile, averaged 72.4bn ft3/day in September, down about 2% year-on-year. Like production, however, the monthly average consumption figure for September 2020 was the second highest for the month since the EIA adopted its existing consumption sector definitions in 2001.
Residential and industrial sector gas deliveries in September were up 13.6% and 1.1%, respectively, on a year-on-year basis. Commercial sector and electric power deliveries were off 0.7% and 5.3%, the EIA said.
And net gas imports fell 7.3bn ft3/day, the agency said, as total imports fell 16.3% against a slight 0.1% increase in exports, to 13.16bn ft3/day – the highest for the month since 1973 – from 13.15bn ft3/day in September 2019.
LNG exports were down 5.6% in September, compared to a year ago, reflecting weaker global LNG demand. In September, the US exported 5bn ft3/day of natural gas as LNG to 24 countries, the EIA said.