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EIA Report Shows Marcellus Proved Gas Reserves Dropped 5.9% in 2023
The number crunchers at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analyzed proved reserves data for 2023 (the most recent year available) and determined that proved reserves of U.S. natural gas decreased 12.6% year over year, from 691.0 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) to 603.6 Tcf. This was the first annual decrease in U.S. natural gas reserves since 2020. Looking at the numbers for Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, natural gas proved reserves decreased by 4% (PA), 13% (OH), and 6% (WV) from 2022 to 2023. The report shows that Marcellus gas reserves dropped 5.9% in 2023. Read More “EIA Report Shows Marcellus Proved Gas Reserves Dropped 5.9% in 2023”
Yesterday, the Potential Gas Committee (PGC) released its year-end assessment of the nation’s estimated natural gas resource base, “Potential Supply of Natural Gas in the United States,” at an event hosted by the American Gas Association. Experts from the PGC presented the current state of technically recoverable reserves in the United States, providing valuable information on a region-by-region basis. We have the executive summary below. Of particular interest for us was the finding that the U.S. has enough gas to supply current and future needs for the next 100 years! Yet we do not, says the PGC, have enough pipelines to flow it.
The number crunchers at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) have analyzed proved reserves data for 2021 (the most recent year available) and have determined that proved reserves soared, up by 32% from the previous year. Why? Five of the eight states with the most proved reserves of natural gas each reported new record volumes, driving the growth nationally. And one of those five is a Marcellus/Utica state: West Virginia.
Coterra Energy (formerly Cabot Oil & Gas) remains one of our favorite Marcellus/Utica drillers. We personally know some of the great people who work there. We’ll never forget having a private tour of a drill site in Susquehanna County, PA by Coterra’s chief Marcellus driller, Buddy Wylie. During the tour, Buddy waxed eloquent on mud logging, showing us rock chips under a microscope. Seeing a drilling operation up close, understanding how wells are planned a year or more in advance, coordinating all of the logistics (when the sand needs to arrive, pipe inventory, trucks to move equipment, backhoes to get the pad ready, etc.) it dawned on us, this stuff really is rocket science! The smart folks at Coterra have done it again–more rocket science. This time they’ve developed a new method for predicting natural gas and oil reservoirs.
The number crunchers at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) have analyzed proved reserves data for 2020 (the most recent year available) and have determined proved reserves dropped by 4% in 2020. Why? Due to the lower price natural gas was fetching. In these days of natgas flirting with $4-$5/MMBtu it may be hard to recall that just a little more than a year ago gas was bumping around in the $2-$3 range.
Earlier this week the Potential Gas Committee (PGC) released the results of its latest biennial assessment of the nation’s natural gas resources. The report shows the U.S. possesses a total mean “technically recoverable resource base” of 3,368 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) as of year-end 2020. That number is 6 Tcf (or 0.2%) less than the amount of gas assessed in the previous period (from year-end 2018). The slight decrease breaks a trend of seven consecutive record-high resource evaluations. However, the report also shows we have more than enough gas to provide not only our own country’s needs, but also the gas needs for much of the world too.
Nearly two weeks ago CNX Resources issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2019 update (see 
We spotted a newly published study (published just yesterday) in Scientific Reports, an online open access scientific mega journal published by Nature, that looks at a new and better way to evaluate shale oil and gas reserves–the amount of stuff in the ground. What’s special about this report, written by researchers at the University of Utah, is that it specifically used the Marcellus Shale as its test subject.
Last year a hedge fund manager tried pitching a fund that would “bet against” shale drillers to investors. At the time he was “basically kicked out of every office in New York City.” Good! However, the now-former hedge fund manager has an advisory service that in a sense also disparages the shale industry, but perhaps performs a valuable service for the industry. The new company uses data that is number-crunched from state records, applying assumptions that are “more realistic” than numbers offered by companies in investor presentations when it comes to how much the wells they *will* drill will produce. That is, this new service provides a more realistic look at reserves–proven and otherwise.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released a bombshell of a report yesterday. Two reports, actually. USGS periodically updates its estimates of how much oil and natural gas is still not accessed but is “technically recoverable” in various shale plays. The last time USGS evaluated the Marcellus and Utica plays was in 2011, when the two plays combined had 122 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of recoverable gas. In yesterday’s report, USGS says that number has almost doubled, to 214 Tcf. But the biggest surprise is that the Utica has MORE recoverable gas than the Marcellus!
The Potential Gas Committee (PGC), a private non-profit organization loosely affiliated with the Colorado School of Mines, performs a comprehensive study of potential supplies of natural gas in the United States every two years. The latest biennial study has just been published and finds natural gas supplies in the “Atlantic” area, which includes the Marcellus/Utica (is primarily the M-U), once again leads the country–now with the highest supplies ever.