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EIA ReportsU.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Natural Gas Use Reaches Record Levels In Residential, Industrial Sectors
U.S. consumption of natural gas in 1996 reached record levels in the residential and industrial end-use sectors, according to the Natural Gas Annual 1996 report released this week by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Total consumption in the United States was 22.0 Tcf (Figure 1). Deliveries for residential use of 5.2 trillion cubic (Tcf) and for industrial use of 8.9 Tcf surpassed the previous consumption records for these sectors set more than 20 years ago in the early 1970's (Figure 2). Also, nearly 1 million new residential customers were added during 1996. The large volumes of gas consumed in 1996 reflect, in part, the impact of major regulatory and legislative initiatives to expand access to gas that began in the mid-1980s and reversed previous policies that discouraged the use of gas. The price of gas at the wellhead climbed sharply, increasing by 40 percent from $1.55 per thousand cubic feet in 1995 to $2.17 in 1996. Other price increases varied greatly from sector to sector. During 1996 residential customers paid $6.34 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf), commercial customers paid $5.40 per Mcf, industrial customers paid $3.42 per Mcf, and electric utilities paid $2.69 Mcf. Marketed production of natural gas in 1996 climbed to 19.8 Tcf. Production from the entire Gulf of Mexico rose 3.2 percent from 1995 to 1996. The Gulf of Mexico increase of 323 billion cubic feet, together with notable increases in Arkansas and Colorado, more than offset declines in onshore Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The trend for increasing gas production from the offshore Gulf of Mexico is expected to continue during the next few years. The extension of recovery opportunities into deep water has established the deep offshore as an important area for future production. Natural gas production in 1996 was at its highest level since 1981, and despite the relatively large volumes, reserve additions were more than adequate to replace the produced gas. In fact, gas reserves rose for the third year in a row, for the first sustained increase since 1967. These estimates were published by EIA last week in Advance Summary: U.S. Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and Natural Gas Liquids, 1996 Annual Report. The Natural Gas Annual 1996 is now available on the Internet. Internet access to this report can be obtained through the EIA Home Page on the World Wide Web system. The direct Internet address for the report is: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/natgas/nga96.html. Copies of the printed report will be available after October 1, 1997, from the U.S. Government Printing Office (202-512-1800), or through EIA's National Energy Information Center (NEIC), Room 1F-048, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington DC 20585 (202-586-8800). The figures referenced above may be viewed together with this press release in the Press Release Section of EIA's Web Site: http://www.eia.doe.gov. Copies may also be obtained from EIA's Press Contact.
EIA Press Contact: Thomas Welch, 202/586-1178 EIA-97-25 Contact:
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