On its September Short-Term Energy Outlook, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) expected that the country’s industrial sector’s natural gas consumption to rise in 2021, exceeding the levels seen in 2019.
This year, the EIA predicted natural gas consumption in the country to hit 23.2 bcfd. In the first half, consumption averaged 22.9 bcfd. For the second half, the EIA expected the reading to be at an average of 23.5 bcfd.
If the forecasts are realized, this year’s total would exceed the average in 2019 of 23.1 bcfd and would be the highest level since 1997.
Moving onward, the EIA projected that natural gas delivered to industrial consumers will average 23.8 bcfd in 2022, close to the record high since the data started in the early 1970s.
