Pennsylvania DEP Points to Dwindling Natural Gas Output

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): The latest data released by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) indicates that its natural gas production continued to decline during Q3 this year.

The production from horizontal wells totaled 1.88 Tcf or 20.6 Bcf/d in the third quarter of the year. This is marginally down by 0.8% from the corresponding quarter a year before. This is the third consecutive quarter to see year-on-year decline in output. Also, Q3 reported the strongest year-on-year decline in quarterly output since 2015.

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The reduced production is despite rise in number of wells spud by 47 from Q3 last year to total 158. However, the number of wells spud in the first two months of Q4 this year is already down by 13.6% over the same period last year. Incidentally, horizontal producing wells accounted for more than 99% of the total production, DEP noted.

Meantime, natural gas prices in Pennsylvania and the U.S. witnessed dramatic increase during Q3 2022. The surge in prices was mainly due to strong domestic and international demand as well as weaker oil production growth. The current forecasts indicate elevated natural gas prices in the near term, mainly due to global supply and demand pressures, DEP noted.