Natural gas consumption in the United States was reported at 80.280 Cub ft/Day bn in December 2020. For more information, see the table below.
How much natural gas does the United States consume on a daily basis?
- As of 2017, the United States consumed 27,110,271 million cubic feet (MMcf) of natural gas each year.
- The United States is the world’s leading consumer of natural gas, accounting for around 20.5 percent of global consumption of 132,290,211 MMcf.
- Every year, the United States consumes 83,394 cubic feet of natural gas per capita (based on a population of 325,084,756 people in 2017), or 228 cubic feet each day.
In 2020, how much natural gas did the United States consume?
Natural gas consumption in the United States is expected to reach 832 billion cubic meters in 2020. In comparison to 1998, this implies an increase of around 202 billion cubic meters.
What is the annual cost of natural gas in the United States?
Petroleum goods, such as motor gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and hydrocarbon gas liquids, make for the majority of US energy expenditures. Petroleum expenditures in the United States totaled $742 billion in 2018, accounting for nearly 58 percent of total energy expenditures. Texas, which has had the highest annual petroleum expenditures since 1979, spent $108 billion in 2018, accounting for over 15% of the nation’s total petroleum expenditures.
Electricity retail sales, which comprise all natural gas, coal, nuclear, renewables, and petroleum used to generate electricity in the electric power sector, were the second-largest source of energy expenditures in the United States in 2018, accounting for $403 billion, or 32% of total expenditures. Power retail sales expenditures, as calculated by the EIA, represent the amount of money spent by end-use customers, such as businesses and households, who pay for electricity as it is consumed. To avoid duplicate counting expenditures, EIA excludes primary energy sources (natural gas, coal, nuclear, renewables, and petroleum) utilized by the electric power industry to generate electricity.
In 2018, natural gas used for uses other than electricity generation (for example, as heat for homes and businesses or in industrial processes) accounted for $158 billion (12 percent of total). In 2018, California, which spent the most on both electricity and natural gas, accounted for 10% and 9% of the nation’s total expenditures on each source, respectively.
In the United States, the majority of coal is utilized to create energy in the electric power industry. Coal used for purposes other than electric power generation (such as heat in metallurgical industrial processes) accounted for 2% of total energy expenditures in the United States.
Will natural gas run out in the United States?
According to the US Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook 2022, there were approximately 2,926 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of technically recoverable resources (TRR) of dry natural gas in the United States as of January 1, 2020. If dry natural gas output in the United States remains constant at around 30 Tcf in 2020, the country will have enough dry natural gas to last roughly 98 years. The length of time the TRR will last is determined by the amount of dry natural gas produced and future changes in natural gas TRR.
Proven reserves and unproven resources are included in technically recoverable reserves. The projected amounts predicted to be produced with reasonable certainty under current economic and operating conditions are known as proved reserves of crude oil and natural gas. Unproved crude oil and natural gas resources are amounts that are anticipated to be theoretically recoverable without regard to economics or operating circumstances, based on current technology. According to the EIA, the United States had 464 Tcf of proved reserves and 2,460 Tcf of unproved reserves of dry natural gas as of January 1, 2020.
TRR estimates are very speculative, especially in areas where few wells have been drilled. As new geological knowledge is gathered through more drilling, long-term productivity for existing wells is clarified, and the productivity of new wells grows with technical advances and better management techniques, early estimations tend to vary and shift dramatically over time. TRR projections for each Annual Energy Outlook are based on the most recent well production statistics as well as information from other federal and state government agencies, industry, and academia.
For further information, go to:
Table 2 shows the technically recoverable dry natural gas resources in the United States as of January 1, 2022.
Reference case forecasts for annual dry natural gas output in the United States out to 2050 in the Annual Energy Outlook.
Other FAQs about Natural Gas
- A kilowatthour of electricity is generated using how much coal, natural gas, or petroleum?
- In the United States, how much shale gas is produced?
- What do you think the price of home heating fuel will be this winter?
- How much does it cost to produce electricity using various power plants?
- Does the EIA have data on natural gas and oil pipelines in the United States?
- In each condition, what sorts and amounts of energy are produced?
- What should I budget for heating this winter?
- How much of the carbon dioxide produced in the United States is due to power generation?
- Is the EIA able to provide data on energy use and prices for cities, counties, or zip codes?
- What are the main influences on natural gas prices?
- What are the differences between Ccf, Mcf, Btu, and therms? What is the best way to convert natural gas costs from dollars per Ccf or Mcf to dollars per Btu or therm?
- Which states use the most natural gas and produce the most?
- How big are the world’s natural gas reserves?
- In the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report, how does EIA determine the year-ago and five-year averages?
- What is the current state of natural gas in the United States, and how long will it last?
- Is data on shale gas and coalbed methane production and reserves published by the EIA?
- Does the EIA provide state-by-state estimates or projections for energy output, consumption, and prices?
- In the United States, how many alternative fuel and hybrid automobiles are there?
- What is the energy source for power generation in the United States?
- Why am I paying more for heating oil or propane than what is listed on the EIA website?
- What is the cost of natural gas for electric power generators in the United States?
- Does the EIA have data on energy production at the county level?
- In the United States, how much natural gas is consumed?
- Is the EIA aware of any unplanned disruptions or shutdowns of energy infrastructure in the United States?
How much natural gas is consumed each day on a global scale?
Consumption of natural gas in the world from 1998 to 2019 Over the last two decades, global natural gas consumption has increased. Natural gas consumption is expected to reach 3.8 trillion cubic meters in 2020.
How much natural gas did the United States consume in 2019?
According to the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) recently issued Natural Gas Monthly, natural gas consumption in the United States climbed by 3% in 2019, reaching a new high of 85.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). Domestic natural gas use increased as a result of new natural gas-fired power capacity and decreased natural gas pricing.
Natural gas consumption in the United States increased by 2.0 Bcf/d, or 7%, in the electric power sector, but stayed unchanged in the commercial, residential, and industrial sectors. Exports by pipeline to Mexico and as liquefied natural gas (LNG) increased by 0.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) and 2.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), respectively. In 2019, the electric power sector consumed 31.0 Bcf/d of total domestic natural gas consumption in the United States, accounting for 36% of total consumption. The PJM Interconnection, which serves the United States’ mid-Atlantic region, saw an increase in natural gas-fired electric capacity additions in 2019.
After initially overtaking coal-fired output on an annual basis in 2016, natural gas continues to account for the greatest share of electricity generation. Natural gas contributed for 38% of total energy generation in 2019, with coal accounting for 23% and nuclear accounting for 20%. New natural gas generation capacity has continued to displace coal-fired power plants; in 2019, around 5% of the total existing coal-fired capacity in the United States was retired.
Demand
- Despite having fewer than 5% of the world’s population, the United States consumes about 16% of global energy and accounts for 15% of global GDP. In comparison, the European Union has 6% of the global population, uses 4.2 percent of its energy, and accounts for 15% of its GDP, whereas China has 18% of the global population, consumes 20% of its energy, and accounts for 16% of its GDP. 6,7
- Each day, the United States consumes 2.3 gallons of oil, 7.89 pounds of coal, and 252 cubic feet of natural gas per person.
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- Electricity use in the home is 12.1 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per person per day.
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- Total energy consumption in the United States fell 7.3 percent in 2020 compared to high levels in 2019.
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Does the United States consume more energy than China?
China has just surpassed the United States in terms of coal and power consumption, and has surpassed the United States as the world’s largest carbon emitter. However, the United States continues to consume more oil and natural gas than any other country on the planet. In 2013, the United States consumed about twice as much oil as China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer.
What is the United States’ primary energy source?
In 2021, natural gas was the primary source of power generation in the United States, accounting for nearly 38% of total generation. Natural gas is utilized to create energy in steam turbines and gas turbines.
Coal was the second-largest energy source for power generation in the United States in 2021, accounting for around 22% of total generation. Steam turbines are used in nearly all coal-fired power plants. A few coal-fired power plants convert coal to gas, which is then used to generate electricity using a gas turbine.
In 2021, petroleum accounted for less than 1% of total electrical generation in the United States. Steam turbines consume residual fuel oil and petroleum coke. Diesel-engine generators use distillate or dieselfuel oil. Gas turbines can also burn residual fuel oil and distillates.