The U.S. Energy Information Administration has reported that U.S. natural gas production capacity is expected to meet normal demand this year.
EIA said surplus monthly capacity will be higher in December 1997 than it was in December 1995. This increase mainly reflects new discoveries on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf.
An EIA report found that exceptionally high peak-day or peak-week heating or cooling demand may exceed projected productive capacity, or production may be limited by other factors such as pipeline availability.
"Nonetheless, the natural gas industry has developed methods to meet peak demand such as deliveries from storage and peak-day shaving."
EIA said Louisiana, California, and Oklahoma may not be able to meet their share of scheduled gas production every month.
"However, U.S. gas supplies are expected to be adequate because other areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico federal offshore, will continue to show a surplus productive capacity," EIA said.
It said capacity in excess of average production is needed to respond to variations in demand caused by weather and other factors, although expanded imports and storage of gas in recent years have increased the flexibility of the supply system. Without the projected increases in drilling, hiking U.S. production to meet anticipated demand would lower the surplus to less than recent historical levels.
EIA said its reports on gas wellhead capacity have shown that a decline in gas productive capacity beginning in 1986 was clearly reversed in 1996.
EIA separates coalbed methane from conventional gas-well gas in New Mexico, Rocky Mountains, and the Southeast. Coalbed methane gas capacity is projected to be equal to 5% of the gas-well gas capacity at yearend 1997.
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