HOUSTON, April 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. natural gas production will increase through 2050 across a wide variety of alternative assumptions about the future, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Monday.
EIA projected that based on current laws and regulations, U.S. natural gas production grows 59 percent from 2017 to 2050, starting at 73.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2017 and reaching 118 Bcf/d in 2050.
The agency forecast that beyond 2020, natural gas production grows faster than consumption in almost all cases, said EIA, adding near-term production growth across all cases is supported by growing demand in an environment of low and stable natural gas prices in both domestic and international markets.
After becoming a net natural gas exporter in 2017, U.S. natural gas exports continue to increase in the coming years, EIA said.
Although Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exports from the U.S. increase through the 2020s as more export terminals come online, U.S. LNG exports level off as U.S.-sourced LNG becomes less price competitive with increasing LNG supply from other global suppliers.
