U.S. Natural Gas Abundance
Creates Need for Pipeline
Infrastructure
For decades, the U.S. depended on the
rest of the world for much of its energy.
In 2005, the U.S. imported approximately 60 percent of
its petroleum and was on the cusp of becoming a global
importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Major energy
companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp., BP and Chevron
Corp. were planning to spend billions on natural gas import
terminals to offset the decline in U.S. production, which had
fallen below 50 billion cubic feet per day.
Growth in U.S. Natural Gas Consumption
The combination of plentiful production, low commodity
pricing and more stringent environmental regulations have
fueled a resurgence in the popularity of natural gas.
Fast forward to 2017 and America’s energy landscape has
been turned upside down. Today, the country is the world’s
top producer of both petroleum and natural gas for the
fifth straight year, making a dramatic shift from energy
dependence to energy dominance.
In addition to heating more than half of U.S. homes, in 2015
natural gas overtook coal as the top source of U.S. electric
power generation. Today, approximately 35 percent of U.S.
electric power generation comes from natural gas.
For the sudden abundance of energy, Americans can thank
hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, an innovative drilling
technique for unlocking gas and oil deposits in hard-to-
access rock formations.
In 2016, fracking produced more than half of America’s
crude oil. And thanks to fracking, U.S. natural gas
production has surged by more than 50 percent since 2005 to
approximately 90 billion cubic feet per day.
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The U.S. has such a surplus of natural gas that this year, for
the first time ever, the country started turning its natural
gas into LNG and sending it overseas. In fact, in 2017 the
country expects to export more of the heating fuel than it
imports for the first time since the 1950s.
In its 2017 Annual Energy Outlook, the U.S. Energy
Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that by 2040
natural gas will account for 40 percent of all U.S. energy
production. It also suggests that natural gas use will increase
more than other fuel sources, thanks to significant demand
from the industrial and electric power sectors.
Low natural gas prices have helped the U.S. industrial sector
enjoy a renaissance in domestic manufacturing, particularly
in the petrochemical industry, creating significant new
markets for gas and related natural gas liquids. According to
CONNECT: A PUBLICATION FOR WILLIAMS CUSTOMERS | VOL. 5, ISSUE 1