U.S. natural gas output at record high 3.348 bcf in July

SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) – U.S. dry natural gas production surged to an all-time high in July while overall domestic consumption edged lower, the Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report released Tuesday (9/30).

Preliminary dry natural gas production reached 3.348 bcf, translating to a daily rate of 108.0 bcfd, which was 3.7% higher than July 2024, marking the highest production level for any month since the EIA data tracking began in 1973.

The robust output drove gross withdrawals to a daily rate of 129.5 bcf/d – an increase of 3.2% over the previous year and the highest daily rate for the month since 1980.

Total net natural gas imports registered at -461 bcf or -14.9 bcf/d.

“This net import volume was the lowest for the month since we began tracking net imports in 1973, making the United States a net natural gas exporter,” the EIA report said.

Meanwhile, estimated natural gas consumption across the country decreased slightly by 0.5% from July 2024 to 88.3 bcf/d. This still represented the second-highest daily consumption rate for the month since the current methodology was adopted in 2001.