U.S. natural gas production reached record levels last year, according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently released report.
Gross withdrawals reached 90.9 billion cubic feet per day in 2017, the agency’s highest volume on record. Marketed natural gas production also reached record levels.
The Appalachian region, which includes the Marcellus and Utica shale fields in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, also saw substantial volume growth.
Texas remained the nation’s top producer, outpacing Pennsylvania’s production by about 7 billion cubic feet per day.
Natural gas exports increased 36 percent amid the surge in production, making the nation a net natural gas exporter for the first time in nearly 60 years.