US natural gas production averaged 73.3bn cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in February - the highest output on record since Platts Bentek began tracking in 2005 and serves as a precursor to official data from the US Energy Information Administration due on March 31.
Based on the lower 48 US states, the output was up nearly 1.4 Bcf/d, compared with the January average. On a month-on-month basis, February natural gas production was up nearly 2% since January.
Northeast gas production reached nearly 23.1 Bcf/d in February, rendering an average of 22.7 Bcf/d for the month. This average was about 0.8 Bcf/d greater than the January average and about 1.5 Bcf/d more than the December 2015 average. For basins outside the Northeast, the February average was nearly flat or slightly declining from the previous month.
Prior to November of 2015, the Northeast had about 2700 wells in backlog inventory, whereas in January of this year, the number is barely more than 2000 wells.
Platts Bentek data analysis suggests 2016 US natural gas production will average approximately 71.6 Bcf/d, with some growth geared toward the end of the year. This will mark a year-on-year decline of less than 1%.