2024 was another record-breaking year for the U.S. oil and natural gas industry. From production to consumption to providing energy security for our allies abroad and reducing emissions – energy producers delivered.
This was all accomplished despite significant hurdles, like the politically motivated pause on LNG export permits, restricted federal leasing and increased costs for developing energy resources on federal lands, the unveiling of a new natural gas tax and more. Yet, the U.S. oil and natural gas industry continued to meet rising demand while achieving environmental goals.
As even Senior Climate Adviser to the White House John Podesta acknowledged earlier this year:
“The US is now the number one producer of oil and gas in the world, the number one exporter of natural gas, and that’s a good thing, because following the illegal invasion of Ukraine, and the need that Europe had to rely on different sources rather than Russia fossils, it was important that the US could step up and supply a good deal of the need.” (emphasis added)
Here’s a few highlights from 2024:
Top LNG exporter in the world
In 2024, the United States maintained its status of the world’s top LNG exporter – a title it’s held since 2023 when continued geopolitical events saw Europe seeking alternatives to Russian pipeline gas.
In fact, the United States had a record year for total natural gas and LNG exports. As the International Energy Agency explains:
“In the first six months of 2024, U.S. net natural gas exports (exports minus imports) averaged 12.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), 1% (0.1 Bcf/d) more than the same period last year and 2% (0.3 Bcf/d) less than in 2023, according to our Natural Gas Monthly.” (emphasis added)
According to ship-tracking data from Kpler, the U.S. LNG shipments for 2024 are anticipated to hit 86.9 million metric tons, which is a new record.
“That total is around 720,000 tons or 0.8% more than in 2023, and so sustains the expansion trend of U.S. LNG exports despite brief outages at a number of export terminals in 2024 and delays at new projects that are under construction.”
Source: Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2024
This achievement was possible even in the midst of the pause on LNG exports by the Biden administration – the center of much discourse this year. Allies and industry experts spoke out against the LNG pause. Pawel Michalcyzk, Director for North America Energy and Industrial at Fitch Ratings, said:
“There may be a long-term impact if this pause goes on longer than a year… Other countries could benefit in the very long term if there’s a loss of trust in US LNG exports.”
Allies echoed this sentiment, including U.K. Parliament Member Craig Mackinlay who said:
“Current US supply cannot keep pace with European demand. A generational opportunity for a strong western energy partnership would be lost.”
Top Global Natural Gas Producer
The United States was the global top producer of natural gas for the 15th consecutive year in 2024. This was achieved despite what is likely to be the first decline in U.S. shale gas production since the Energy Information Administration began collecting this data in 2000 and relatively flat total natural gas production. As EIA explained in October:
“Total U.S. shale gas production from January through September 2024 declined by about 1%, to 81.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), compared with the same period in 2023, while other U.S. dry natural gas production increased by about 6% to 22.1 Bcf/d. Total U.S. dry natural gas production from January through September 2024 averaged 103.3 Bcf/d, essentially flat compared with the same period in 2023.”
Top crude oil producer
The United States remained the top producer of crude oil in the world, ahead of Saudi Arabia and Russia, representing about 22 percent of global oil production.
Source: EIA, 2024
And with 2024 crude oil production outpacing 2023 by 2.4 percent in September, U.S. producers are on track to surpass the 12.9 million barrels per day – 4.7 billion barrels total – produced in 2023.
Source: EIA, 2024
Emissions continued to decline
The United States continued to make emissions reduction advancements, despite this prolific production. In fact, methane emissions from the country’s top oil and gas-producing basins have fallen 44 percent since 2011, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency.
These advancements are largely thanks to innovation and technological improvements by our nation’s energy producers. For example, the Environmental Partnership (TEP), representing 70 percent of U.S. onshore oil and natural gas production, highlighted significant reductions in flare intensity and volume in its 2024 report. TEP recorded a 10 percent reduction in total flare volumes, and 6.6 percent reduction in flare intensity.
Source: Environmental Partnership, 2024
As Chevron’s Vanessa Ryan, TEP Chair, explained:
“It’s been a transformational year for our industry with new challenges and opportunities, but what remains clear is the commitment of program participants to reducing methane emissions. I am excited by what we’ve accomplished over the past year and look forward to the continued progress this industry-leading partnership is positioned to achieve in the years ahead.”
Natural gas continues to provide affordable energy and support the economy
In a year where consumers have expressed significant concern over inflation and increasing prices, natural gas continues to be the most affordable fuel to heat homes this winter. As EIA’s Winter Fuels report explains:
The “average price for natural gas for residential consumers in our forecast is four percent less than last winter, resulting in negligible change in winter bills for natural gas in our base case, with forecast expenditures of about $600 per household.”
Additionally, natural gas prices have been steadily dropping with the Henry Hub Natural Gas Spot price being 71 percent lower than it was this time two years ago. These price changes translate to lower costs for heating homes and natural gas-powered electricity generation. In fact, Henry Hub daily natural gas spot prices reached an all-time low in November.
Source: EIA, 2024
At the same time, the U.S. oil and gas industry continues to create employment opportunities and support the economy. In September, Texas’ oil and natural gas industry added 800 jobs in the upstream sector alone, according to new employment data from the Texas Workforce Commission. And National Association of Manufacturers-funded PricewaterhouseCoopers report found that U.S. LNG supports an estimated 222,450 jobs, earning $23.2 billion in labor income and adding $43.8 billion to the U.S. GDP.
Looking ahead: Doubled down focus on natural gas and oil
As we look to 2025, we can anticipate the Trump administration to work toward fulfilling the president elect’s campaign promise to make the United States “energy dominant” again. While we don’t know the administration’s exact plan for 2025 and beyond, we can assume this will include restarting LNG permit approvals, pushing for permitting reform in Congress, and potentially reversing some Biden administration policies like the methane fee.
Bottom Line: The United States continues to be a world leader in energy production and environmental standards – proving again to be a reliable ally for nations facing supply, environmental and geopolitical challenges. 2024 demonstrated yet again that the U.S. oil and natural gas industry is able to meet domestic and international demand, whilst keeping energy prices affordable and driving a strong economy.
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