Natural gas production in the Haynesville region remained slow in 2023, a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration indicates.
The report cites low U.S. national gas prices as the reason for decreased rig activity in the region. Producers averaged 49 active rigs per month in the Haynesville in 2023, according to the report, compared with 55 active rigs in 2022. “The higher relative cost to produce natural gas in the Haynesville region played a role in reducing rig activity and subsequently slowing production growth in 2023,” the authors note.
In 2023, the Haynesville region, in Louisiana and Texas, accounted for 13%, or 16.8 billion cubic feet per day, of gross natural gas withdrawals, a 1.4 billion cubic feet per day increase from 2022. By comparison, natural gas production in the Haynesville region had grown by 2.1 billion cubic feet per day in 2022.
Overall, U.S. natural gas production grew by 4% in 2023, or 5.0 billion cubic feet per day, to average 125.0 billion cubic feet per day. In 2023, three regions—Appalachia, Permian, and Haynesville—accounted for 59% of all natural gas production in the United States, similar to 2022, based on the agency’s Drilling Productivity Report. The DPR measures gross natural gas withdrawals in select onshore regions.
In 2024, the EIE expects a modest production contraction. Dry natural gas production is forecast to average about 103 billion cubic feet per day, according to the agency’s Short-Term Energy Outlook, because of low natural gas prices and a relatively stable rig count.
