U.S. Natural Gas Production in March Rose less than 1% Versus February: Platts' Bentek Energy

DENVER, April 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Natural gas production in the lower 48 United States grew 1.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in March to 73.4 Bcf/d, according to Bentek Energy®, an analytics and forecasting unit of Platts. While production in March remained below peak levels reached in December 2014, it was 8%, or 5.3 Bcf/d, greater than the daily average production in March 2014.  On a month-over-month basis, March natural gas production was up less than 1% from February.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration will publish its domestic production estimates for February on or around April 30, 2015.       

"While last month's U.S. natural gas production made a full recovery from freeze-offs experienced in February, continued offshore maintenance curtailed production by up to 300 million metric cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) until the end of March," said Sami Yahya, Bentek energy analyst. "Northeast production managed a new record of 19.9 Bcf/d late last month, pushing U.S. natural gas production to its highest daily level this year of 73.3 Bcf/d."

Yahya said the Northeast record was attained due to increased receipts along the Rockies Express Pipeline in Ohio; also, production in Northeast Pennsylvania remained about 250 MMcf/d below its all-time high, leaving room for further growth in the region in coming months.  

Bentek data analysis suggests 2015 U.S. natural gas production will average approximately 73.1 Bcf/d, with growth occurring throughout the year, driven primarily by continued production gains in the Northeast, and supplemented by additional supply from Texas and Midcontinent.

The Bentek data analysis is based on an extensive sample of near real-time production receipt data from the U.S. lower 48 interstate pipeline system. Platts' Bentek production models are highly correlated with and provide an advance glimpse of federal government statistics from the U.S. EIA.  

This Bentek Energy U.S. natural gas production data estimate will be published every month, covering the previous month's output activity.  Bentek's dry gas production estimates are not observed data and are based on pipeline receipt nominations and certain state production data. 

Bentek Energy, which specializes in energy market analytics and is recognized as the industry leader in natural gas market fundamental analysis, was acquired by Platts in 2011. For more information about natural gas supply and demand fundamentals and Bentek Energy, visit www.bentekenergy.com.   For more information about natural gas spot price trends, or Platts, a leading global energy, petrochemical and metals information provider, visit the website at www.platts.com.

About Platts: Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures markets.  Platts' news, pricing, analytics, commentary and conferences help customers make better-informed trading and business decisions and help the markets operate with greater transparency and efficiency.  Customers in more than 150 countries benefit from Platts' coverage of the biofuels, carbon emissions, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear power, petrochemical, shipping and sugar markets.  A division of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI), Platts is based in London with more than 1000 employees in more than 15 offices worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

About McGraw Hill Financial: McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI) is a leading financial intelligence company providing the global capital and commodity markets with independent benchmarks, credit ratings, portfolio and enterprise risk solutions, and analytics. The Company's iconic brands include: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL and J.D. Power. The Company has approximately 17,000 employees in 30 countries. Additional information is available at www.mhfi.com.

Media Contacts: Global, U.S., EMEA: Kathleen Tanzy, [email protected], +1 212-904-2860

SOURCE Platts

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