U.S. Associated Natural Gas Output Surges 6% in 2024, EIA Report Reveals

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): A recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlights a strong upswing in U.S. associated dissolved natural gas production, which rose by 6% in 2024 compared to the previous year. This growth demonstrates the expanding role of natural gas recovered from crude oil drilling activities in the nation’s overall energy supply.

According to the EIA, associated natural gas output averaged 18.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) last year. Production remained heavily concentrated in five major oil-producing basins: the Permian, Bakken, Eagle Ford, Anadarko and Niobrara regions. Collectively, these basins generated 18.2 Bcf/d in 2024, marking an increase of 1.0 Bcf/d versus 2023. Associated natural gas represented 37% of total natural gas production within these key regions over the last two years.

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The Permian Basin, spanning western Texas and southeastern New Mexico, continued to anchor U.S. oil growth. Crude output from the region expanded by 377,000 barrels per day in 2024, reaching an average 6.3 million barrels per day, driving much of the associated gas surge.

Production trends across other shale regions remained robust:

• The Bakken generated 2.3 Bcf/d of associated natural gas in 2024, accounting for 67% of its total gas output.

• The Eagle Ford contributed an additional 1.8 Bcf/d of associated gas.

The EIA noted that this rapid expansion in associated natural gas production has fueled record-high ethane output, supporting the nation’s petrochemical and industrial supply chains and strengthening the U.S. position as a major global hydrocarbon supplier.

With continued drilling activity expected across core shale plays, analysts anticipate further momentum in associated gas and natural gas liquids production through 2025.