![oil pumps](/sites/default/files/styles/hart_news_article_image_640/public/image/2023/03/oil-pumps.jpg?itok=72oDtYTM)
Natural gas output from the Permian and Haynesville is expected to grow in April. (Source: Shuttestock)
Natural gas production in key U.S. basins is slated to grow by over 400 Bcf/d in April, led by gains in the Haynesville and Permian.
Total natural gas production in the Lower 48 is expected to rise to 96.62 Bcf/d in April, an increase of 420 Bcf/d month over month from March, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its latest drilling productivity report this week.
Despite a supply glut and weaker-than-expected demand that’s shaved more than 50% off Henry Hub prices in recent months, gas production is forecasted to grow from each of the key basins this month, the EIA said.
Production gains in April will be led by the Haynesville Shale, where gas output is expected to rise by 113 MMcf/d to an average of 16.8 Bcf/d.
Associated gas production in the Permian Basin will rise by 93 MMcf/d to an average of nearly 22.5 Bcf/d in April.
Gas output from Appalachia, the leading gas-producing region in the Lower 48, will grow by 74 MMcf/d to an average of 34.95 Bcf/d.
RELATED
Targa, EnLink, ONEOK Building Out in a Hurry
![EIA Lower 48 Basin Map](/sites/default/files/inline-images/EIA%20Lower%2048%20Basin%20Map.png)
Henry Hub natural gas prices have collapsed in recent months after averaging $6.42/MMBtu in 2022. Henry Hub prices are expected to average around $3/MMBtu this year before rising to an average of $3.89/MMBtu in 2024, according to EIA forecasts.
Regardless of near-term price volatility, the EIA expects natural gas production to grow through 2050 in order to meet global demand, the agency said in its latest Annual Energy Outlook published March 16.
U.S. gas output is forecasted to grow to between 115 Bcf/d to 121 Bcf/d by 2050, depending on the full impacts of clean energy tax credits authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act last year.
RELATED
Toby Rice: EQT has Considered Developing Its Own East Coast LNG Project
Oil outlook
While the Haynesville will lead gas production growth, the prolific Permian Basin will lead crude oil production gains from March to April.
Crude output from the Lower 48 will grow by 68,000 bbl/d to more than 9.2 MMbbl/d in April, the EIA said.
Oil production in the Permian is forecasted00 to grow by 26,000 bbl/d to over 5.6 MMbbl/d next month. Meanwhile, crude output from the Bakken in North Dakota and Montana will rise by 18,000 bbl/d to nearly 1.2 MMbbl/d.
RELATED
April US Shale Production Set to Rise to Highest Since December 2019
Recommended Reading
Permian Surface-owner LandBridge to Raise up to $367MM in IPO
2024-06-17 - Houston-based LandBridge holds some 220,000 surface acres in the Delaware Basin.
Permian’s LandBridge Prices IPO Below Range at $17/Share, Raising $247MM
2024-06-30 - Houston-based LandBridge, which manages some 220,000 surface acres in the Permian Basin, kicked off trading at $19 per share, more than 10% above its listing price.
LandBridge Chair: In-basin Data Centers Coming for Permian NatGas
2024-06-28 - Newly public Delaware Basin surface-owner LandBridge Co. has a 100-year lease agreement with one developer that could result in ground-breaking in two years and 1 GW in demand.
Scott Sheffield Among Investors in Australian Shale Gas IPO
2024-06-27 - The operator who sold Pioneer Natural Resources Co. to Exxon Mobil in May for $59.5 billion joins his son Bryan Sheffield in shale gas investment Down Under.
BPX’s Koontz: The Rise of a Shale Man
2024-07-02 - CEO Kyle Koontz takes the reins of BPX Energy’s rapid onshore growth amid big changes at BP.