Nat Gas Production Seen Robust Through 2040, Journal Reports

Natural-gas production in the United States will continue strong growth through 2040, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

A study of a key natural-gas field in Texas, combined with other research, showed that U.S. shale-rock formations will provide a growing source of moderately priced natural gas, the Journal said in a front-page story.

Research showed evidence of large quantities of gas that can be drilled profitably at a market price of $4 per million British thermal units — a relatively small increase from the current price of about $3.43, the newspaper said.

The study, funded by the nonpartisan Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and performed by the University of Texas, examined 15,000 wells in northern Texas that were drilled mostly in the past decade, the Journal reported.