BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 15. US dry natural gas production is expected to remain around its February level in March, the US Energy Information Administration Agency (EIA) says, Trend reports.
According to the agency's estimations, US dry natural gas production rose to nearly 104 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in February. This came after a drop in January to 102 Bcf/d due to weather-related issues.
The EIA anticipates production to stay around this level in March and gradually decrease for the rest of the year.
Some producers are cutting back on production because of low prices. By December 2024, the agency expects production to fall to 103 Bcf/d, and then average 104 Bcf/d in 2025.
"We don't foresee production reaching the record high of 106 Bcf/d seen in December 2023 during this forecast period. Although production decreases slightly through 2024 due to low natural gas prices and a steady rig count, it starts to rise again in early 2025," the EIA added.
The administration explains that this increase is mainly because natural gas prices are expected to average almost $3 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) next year, along with higher demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.
"The continued strength in U.S. natural gas production will be key in determining how long the current inventory surplus to the five-year average and low prices persist. Because of low natural gas prices, some producers have announced curtailments in production or reductions in capital expenditures toward natural gas-directed activities in 2024. How soon curtailments affect the market is highly uncertain, and our price forecast is based on relatively high production entering the shoulder season when natural gas demand is lower than other times of the year. However, if there is less production than our forecast, the next few months are warmer than normal, and natural gas consumption for electric power generation increases more than our forecast, then inventories could fall below our forecast and prices could be higher," the EIA added.