Foundation for Energy Education

U.S. proved gas reserves (wet) totaled 247.79 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2007, up 12.4% from the 2006 figure. The 2006 number had increased 3.3% from the 2005 figure, which had risen 6.0% from 2004’s level.
As of 2007, the top 10 states/areas for proved gas reserves in the U.S. include Texas (76.336 Tcf); Wyoming (30.90 Tcf); Colorado (22.48 Tcf); Oklahoma (20.18 Tcf); New Mexico (18.40 Tcf); the Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico (14.01 Tcf); Louisiana (10.29 Tcf); Utah (6.46 Tcf); West Virginia (4.88 Tcf); and Kansas (4.25 Tcf).
U.S. proved gas reserves are now 41% higher than they were in 1989, 20 years ago.
Shale gas plays (as in Texas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania) have contributed significantly to gains in U.S. gas reserves in recent years.

In 2008, the U.S. produced (marketed output) 21.44 Tcf of gas, up 7.1% from the 2007 figure. Previously, U.S. output grew 3.1% in 2007 and 2.5% in 2006.
The 2008 output figure was the highest in 34 years, since 1974. In that year, U.S. gas production was 21.60 Tcf.
The top 10 gas-producing states/areas in the U.S. during 2008 included Texas (6.97 Tcf); the Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico (2.35 Tcf); Wyoming (2.27 Tcf); Oklahoma (1.88 Tcf); New Mexico (1.47 Tcf); Louisiana (1.35 Tcf); Colorado (1.24 Tcf); Utah (0.38 Tcf); Kansas (0.37 Tcf); and California (0.31 Tcf).
Across the U.S., the number of producing gas wells was 452,768 in 2007, up 2.8% from the 2006 figure.
Over the last 20 years (since 1989), the number of U.S. gas-producing wells has risen 72.5%.
During the last 20 years, average gas well productivity has fallen 36%. It takes a far greater number of wells to achieve the same production levels compared to 1989.
Given the trend in gas production, consumption and gas well productivity, the industry will be required to drill a large number of new gas wells at an accelerated pace, if the country’s output and reserves are to grow further.

U.S. gas consumption (deliveries to consumers) in 2008 was 21.30 Tcf, up 0.3% from the 2007 figure. If lease and plant fuel, and pipeline requirements are added in, then consumption was 23.22 Tcf, up 0.7%. This was a near-record level, exceeded only by the year 2000 (23.2 Tcf).
The 2008 consumer consumption figure includes 6.66 Tcf (31.3% of the national total) for electricity generation, 6.63 Tcf (31.1%) for industrial purposes, 4.87 Tcf (22.9%) for direct residential purposes, and 3.12 Tcf (14.6%) for direct commercial usage.
Texas leads the nation in natural gas consumption (volumes delivered to consumers) with 3.15 Tcf in 2008. The rest of the top 10 states includes California (2.35 Tcf); Louisiana (1.40 Tcf); New York (1.16 Tcf); Illinois (0.98 Tcf); Florida (0.94 Tcf); Michigan (0.80 Tcf); Ohio (0.78 Tcf); Pennsylvania (0.70 Tcf); and New Jersey (0.63 Tcf).