Natural gas industry can meet demand, study says

The natural gas market in the United States is robust and can satisfy growing domestic consumption and export demands at relatively low prices, according to a recent American Council for Capital Formation Center for Policy Research (ACCF-CPR) study.

The study, Analysis of U.S. Natural Gas Market Price Impacts from Increasing Natural Gas Supply Accessibility for Different Natural Gas Demand Outlooks, evaluated the potential price impacts of increasing natural gas supply accessibility.

There are sufficient natural gas supply resources, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates, to support both domestic and export demand within a price range of $3 to $4 per 1 Million British Thermal Units (MMBtu).

A lack of new natural gas pipeline infrastructure means the United States is unable to utilize its lowest cost natural gas resources located in the Northeast region, particularly from the Marcellus and Utica shale gas basins.

Regulatory and permitting challenges have led to the cancellation of several pipeline projects in the Northeast since 2020.

Expanding the pipeline infrastructure is expected to reduce natural gas prices between an estimated to be 25 cents and 30 cents per MMBtu in 2025 to between an estimated 25 cents and 40 cents per MMBtu in 2035.